'7-Person Tuksuk Cafe Gathering' Kim Eo-jun... Seoul City "Violation of Quarantine Rules Confirmed"

Seoul City: "Insufficient Grounds to Consider the Gathering as Essential Activity"
Meeting Held Last Month at a Cafe Near TBS Traffic Broadcasting
Controversy Over Gatherings of Five or More and Mask Wearing Below Chin

Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun is seen having a conversation with the production team of TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' at a cafe in Seoul. / Photo by Internet Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has determined that broadcaster Kim Eo-jun violated quarantine rules by holding a meeting with more than five people at a cafe without properly wearing masks. Accordingly, if the jurisdictional authority, Mapo District Office, makes a decision in line with Seoul's judgment, a total of seven participants, including Kim, are expected to be fined.

According to a report by 'Newsis' on the 4th, on the 1st, the Mapo District Office received a citizen report that Kim violated quarantine rules at a cafe in Mapo-gu, Seoul. However, since it was difficult to judge based on photos alone, they decided to inquire with higher authorities such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government before making a decision.

In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government replied on the following day (the 2nd) that the meeting held by Kim and six production staff at a cafe in Mapo-gu was "difficult to recognize as an essential business activity."

In the reply, Seoul judged that the gathering Kim participated in was subject to the ban on private gatherings of five or more people and was subject to fines. However, it is known that the actual imposition of fines is a final decision to be made by the jurisdictional authority, the Mapo District Office.

Therefore, if Mapo District Office makes a decision according to Seoul's judgment, each participant in the meeting, including Kim, will be fined 100,000 KRW individually. The cafe in question may also be fined.

TBS 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' host Kim Eo-jun / Photo by TBS Broadcasting Capture

The controversy over Kim's violation of quarantine rules arose after a netizen posted a photo capturing the situation at the time on an online community.

On the 19th of last month, a post titled "Reported Kim Eo-jun for violating gathering ban" was uploaded on an internet community along with photos. In the photos posted by the netizen, Kim is seen sitting at a cafe table talking with acquaintances.

At the time, Kim was wearing a so-called 'tukseukeu' mask style, hanging the mask on his chin. Around the table where Kim was seated, three people including Kim were sitting on chairs, and two others were standing and listening. However, after an on-site investigation by Mapo District, it was found that a total of seven people, including Kim, were present at the location.

Regarding this, the netizen explained, "The photo shows the signboard of XXX (cafe name), so I searched cafes around Sangam-dong where TBS Traffic Broadcasting is located one by one," adding, "I reported after finding a place matching the stall, glass ball lighting, and diagonal stairs outside the cafe."

The government had decided on the 18th of the same month to extend the social distancing level 2.5 in the metropolitan area and the ban on private gatherings of five or more people.

As the controversy over Kim's violation of quarantine rules grew, TBS explained on their Facebook account at the time, "The meeting was a business meeting held by the News Factory production team immediately after the live broadcast ended that morning for broadcast monitoring and production of the next day's broadcast."

They added, "From now on, all TBS executives and hosts will be more thorough in practicing social distancing and complying with quarantine rules to prevent COVID-19."

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