283 People Caught for Violating Gathering Ban and Other Offenses in Illegal Entertainment Facility Crackdown Within One Week (Comprehensive)

Over 100 People Caught in Seoul Alone
"Actions Undermining COVID-19 Recovery, Continuous Crackdown"

On the night of the 21st, citizens are returning home through the streets near Jamsilsaenae Station in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where entertainment establishments are located, among businesses with their signs lit past 9 PM.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the police launched a large-scale crackdown on illegal entertainment establishments that have become a 'blind spot' in COVID-19 quarantine measures, more than 200 related offenders were caught by the police within a week.

According to the National Police Agency on the 1st, from the 25th to the 31st of last month, 887 police officers and 414 local government officials conducted joint inspections of 7,200 entertainment establishments nationwide.

In the process, the police cracked down on a total of 43 cases involving 283 people for violations such as breaches of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. By type, there were 28 cases involving 254 people for violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, including violations of the gathering ban order; 9 cases involving 23 people for violations of the Food Sanitation Act; and 6 cases involving 6 people for violations of the Music Industry Act.

In particular, in Seoul, 7 cases involving 20 people were caught operating unauthorized entertainment businesses, and 11 cases involving 100 people were cracked down on for violating quarantine rules. On the first day of the crackdown, the 25th of last month, a singing practice room operating an unauthorized room salon in Songpa-gu was caught, resulting in 5 business owners and 2 customers being booked. The next day, around 1 a.m. on the 26th, 31 business owners and customers were caught operating behind locked doors to evade inspection at an entertainment pub in Gwanak-gu.

Then, at around 6:20 a.m. on the 31st, a business owner operating an unauthorized club by installing a DJ box, special lighting, and a stage to allow customers to dance was caught at a general restaurant in Gangnam-gu.

Jang Ha-yeon, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a press conference that day, "This act pours cold water on the situation where the public is sharing the pain together to overcome COVID-19," and emphasized, "We will continue the crackdown."

Illegal activities were also detected not only in Seoul but also in the metropolitan areas such as Gyeonggi and Incheon. In Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, 11 people including business owners who employed entertainment workers to entertain reserved customers at a general restaurant were caught. In Suwon, 33 people including entertainment pub owners and foreign workers were caught for soliciting customers to attract business. In Incheon, on the 25th of last month around 10 p.m., 24 people including business owners were caught operating at a singing practice room in Gyeyang-gu targeting reserved customers.

The police will continue cracking down on illegal entertainment establishments until the 14th of this month, when the Lunar New Year holiday ends. The crackdown targets establishments registered as singing practice rooms that are actually operating unauthorized entertainment pubs in a disguised manner, or those registered as general restaurants but operating in the form of unauthorized entertainment pubs targeting reserved customers to evade inspection.

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