Jeju Island, Three Screen Golf Centers Fined 1.5 Million Won for Violating Quarantine Rules

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced on the 3rd that it plans to take administrative action based on the ‘Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act’ against two indoor screen golf centers that violated the ban on food consumption within sports facilities and one screen golf center that violated the ban on gatherings of five or more people.

For indoor sports facilities in the province, in accordance with the government’s policy to maintain social distancing level 2 in non-metropolitan areas, the following must be observed until 24:00 on the 14th: ▲mandatory mask-wearing ▲management of visitor lists ▲suspension of operations after 9 p.m. (until 5 a.m. the next day) ▲one person per 8㎡ occupancy limit ▲ban on food consumption within the facility.

The province is strengthening quarantine inspections of indoor sports facilities by operating an on-site inspection team composed of provincial, administrative city, and autonomous police units.

This year, a total of 1,646 private indoor sports facilities were inspected, and violations were detected at 22 establishments.

The most frequent violation was providing alcoholic beverages or food, with 15 cases. Specifically, four places failed to manage visitor logs, one place violated the ban on operating after 9 p.m., one place violated the ban on gatherings of five or more people, and one place engaged in gambling activities such as card gambling.

Among these, three establishments were caught more than twice despite first-time on-site correction orders. All of these establishments were confirmed to be indoor screen golf centers.

Screen golf centers are facilities with a high risk of infectious diseases due to being enclosed spaces with dense and close contact and difficulty in continuous mask-wearing because of food consumption. However, due to their room-type environment, on-site inspections are not easy, making voluntary compliance with quarantine rules especially important.

Screen Golf Center A was caught twice for consuming alcohol and snacks.

Screen Golf Center B strongly denied providing food, but during on-site inspections, snacks and other food items were found to have been provided, and beer cans and soju bottles were discovered in trash bags. Delivery food was also detected on-site, ultimately leading to their exposure.

At Screen Golf Center C, the on-site mobile inspection team caught five people gathered in one room engaging in gambling activities such as card gambling, resulting in a violation confirmation for breaching the ban on gatherings of five or more people and gambling activities.

The on-site inspection team initially provides guidance focused on education considering the difficult conditions of businesses due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic when violations of quarantine rules are detected. However, if intentional violations or failure to comply with correction orders occur repeatedly, fines are imposed without exception.

A fine of 1.5 million KRW is imposed for the first violation, 3 million KRW for the second violation, and facility operation may be suspended upon the third detection.

Ko Chun-hwa, Director of the Provincial Culture, Sports, and External Cooperation Bureau, said, “We are always sorry and grateful to the businesses that actively cooperate with quarantine rules despite difficulties in operating indoor sports facilities due to business hour restrictions.” She urged, “To overcome the COVID-19 infection as soon as possible, everyone should unite with one heart and actively cooperate in complying with quarantine rules.”

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