Controversy Over 'Daytime Drinking Ban'... Suncheon Mayor: "Proactive Measure... Successful in Raising Awareness"

Alcohol Sales Prohibited from 5 AM to 4 PM for 2 Weeks at Restaurants in Suncheon Area
10,000 KRW Fine for Drinking During Daytime, 3,000,000 KRW Fine for Selling

Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do, has banned the sale of daytime alcohol in restaurants to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Suwan Kim] Suncheon City in Jeollanam-do has issued an administrative order banning the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. as a preemptive measure to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), known as the 'daytime drinking ban,' sparking controversy. In this context, Mayor Heo Seok of Suncheon evaluated the measure by saying, "We have succeeded in raising awareness."

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 6th, Mayor Heo stated, "Some healthy young people think 'I'm okay,' which leads to reckless behavior, and such business practices are encouraged. We took this measure to raise awareness," he explained.

Mayor Heo added, "If we do not swiftly and decisively stop the crisis of spread, the suffering of small business owners will inevitably be prolonged, so I hope people understand that this is a necessary measure."

He continued, "The younger generation's awareness of COVID-19 is somewhat lacking. Since they are prohibited from drinking at night, cases of alcohol sales starting from 5 a.m. have occurred, which is a concerning situation. In fact, such cases are more frequent in the Seoul metropolitan area," he claimed.

He further stated, "I believe the Seoul metropolitan area should also implement the daytime drinking ban. When Suncheon City was the first nationwide to raise the alert level to Level 2, I judged it to be a very good measure. At that time, I regretted that the Seoul metropolitan area did not raise social distancing measures more quickly," he added.

Mayor Heo also mentioned that the daytime drinking ban period could be shortened. He said, "Thanks to the efforts of health authorities and the cooperation of citizens, signs of controlling the third wave crisis in Suncheon City have appeared within just a few days. If the third wave crisis is controlled, we will gather opinions from the private joint countermeasure committee and others to lift the daytime drinking ban," he stated.

Meanwhile, earlier on the 3rd, Mayor Heo issued an emergency statement announcing, "To add strengthened measures to the government's COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, we will issue an administrative order banning the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. for two weeks from the 4th to the 17th."

Violators of this order will be fined up to 3 million won for operators and up to 100,000 won for users, respectively, under the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.

Meanwhile, online debates continue regarding the daytime drinking ban order. Some welcome the administrative order, believing it will help with quarantine efforts, while others criticize it, saying it will exacerbate the suffering of self-employed people whose livelihoods are threatened by COVID-19.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.