Jung Sye-kyun: "Non-capital area business restrictions eased to '10 PM'... Capital area remains unchanged"

Opening Remarks at the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the weekend, February 6, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced on the 6th, "The business hour restrictions will be eased to 10 PM in regions outside the metropolitan area where the situation is gradually improving." However, regarding Seoul and the metropolitan area, he stated, "More than 70% of the total confirmed cases are concentrated there, and the risk of infection spread still remains, so the current business hour restriction of 9 PM will be maintained."

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Chung chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office and said, "After much deliberation based on various opinions from all sectors, we have decided to adjust the business hour restrictions for multi-use facilities." However, he added a caveat that if local governments wish to maintain the current restrictions in non-metropolitan areas where the easing to 10 PM applies, their autonomy will be respected.

Prime Minister Chung said, "The government has so far restricted business hours of certain industries based on the distancing principle of 'minimizing contact and movement,'" and evaluated, "One of the factors that allowed us to reduce the number of confirmed cases from over 1,000 per day at the end of last year to 300-400 cases within about a month was precisely the business hour restriction measures."

He also said, "The pain of small business owners and self-employed people who have been unable to operate properly for a long time due to cooperation with quarantine measures has reached an unbearable level," adding, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of self-employed people decreased by 75,000 compared to the previous year, marking the largest decline in three years." He expressed regret, saying, "As I listened to the desperate voice of a self-employed person who said, 'It's not that we don't want to do quarantine, but that we want to live,' my heart broke as the head of the Central Disaster Headquarters."

Prime Minister Chung acknowledged, "I am well aware that this easing of business hours is far from enough to heal the deeply wounded self-employed," and vowed, "The government will work harder to bring forward the day when they can open their stores and operate freely."

He warned, "The easing of quarantine measures must not become the trigger for a resurgence of COVID-19," and said, "The government will strictly separate and manage facilities that faithfully follow quarantine rules from those that do not through the 'One Strike Out' system." He also urged the public, "Do not lower your vigilance and be sure to keep the social promise of quarantine."

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