Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, Strongly Responds to Pocha Kkeutpanwang... Administrative Order Prohibiting Shared Seating and Dancing in Hygiene Establishments

From 12 AM on February 6, administrative orders targeting hygiene businesses will be enforced to prevent recurrence... Immediate strong administrative actions for shared seating, dancing, or aiding/ignoring such acts... Daily inspections, joint police and public-private checks for rapid detection

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Seon-gap) has recently taken strong measures in response to the COVID-19 cluster infection outbreak at a pojangmacha in Hwayang-dong.

As soon as the first confirmed case related to Pojakkeutpanwang in Gwangjin-gu was identified, Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, held an emergency countermeasure meeting and instructed a strong response.

Through the meeting, Mayor Kim emphasized prioritizing the prevention of further spread of confirmed cases and ordered a full investigation of users to establish countermeasures that would block additional confirmed cases at an early stage.

Prior to this, on January 28, the district detected dancing activities inside the establishment and imposed a two-month business suspension. Additionally, despite customers not wearing masks, the establishment’s guidance on mask-wearing was insufficient, resulting in a fine of 1.5 million KRW.

Furthermore, on February 3, the district conducted a special inspection of bar-type general restaurants around Konkuk University Station, detecting a total of 22 violations. According to the findings, fines ranging from a minimum of 200,000 KRW to a maximum of 1.5 million KRW and a 15-day business suspension will be imposed.

Alongside this, the district will implement administrative orders for quarantine measures on hygiene establishments to prevent recurrence of cluster infections.

The targeted facilities are those registered as general restaurants under the Food Sanitation Act, and the measures will be in effect from 0:00 on February 6 until further notice.

Accordingly, dancing or singing, sharing tables or aiding and abetting such acts, and violations of quarantine rules are prohibited at the targeted facilities.

If violations of these rules are detected, prior notification will be omitted according to Article 21, Paragraph 4, Subparagraph 1 of the Administrative Procedures Act, and strong administrative actions such as immediate fines, business suspensions, prosecutions, and claims for damages will be taken in accordance with relevant laws.

Additionally, to ensure swift action, daily inspections will be conducted, and joint crackdowns with the police and public-private cooperation will be carried out concurrently.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, stated, “Since March, the district has been inspecting Konkuk University Station area on weekdays and at night through joint efforts with the police and public-private cooperation. After the Itaewon incident in May, we immediately operated the ‘Special Task Force for Entertainment Facilities’ to proactively respond. However, it is deeply regrettable that many confirmed cases have occurred at Konkuk Pojakkeutpanwang.”

He added, “The district will return to the initial mindset when forming the Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and, with the determination that ‘the safety of residents is the top priority,’ will do its utmost to prevent further spread of local infections through strong responses.”

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