Illegal Operations Persist in Entertainment Venue Crackdown Week 2... Total of 537 Caught

Entertainment district illuminated by lights. The photo is not directly related to the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the police launch a massive crackdown on illegal entertainment establishments that have become a 'blind spot' in COVID-19 prevention measures, more than 200 violators were caught in the first week of February.

According to the National Police Agency on the 8th, from February 1 to 7, the police deployed 671 officers and conducted joint inspections with local governments at 5,041 entertainment venues nationwide.

During this process, the police cracked down on a total of 29 cases involving 254 people for violations such as breaches of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. Since the crackdown began on January 25, the cumulative number of violations stands at 72 cases involving 537 people.

By type, violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, including orders to prohibit gatherings, accounted for 19 cases involving 228 people; violations of the Food Sanitation Act were 3 cases involving 9 people; and violations of the Music Industry Act were 7 cases involving 17 people.

In Daegu, on the 2nd at around 11 p.m., 12 people including business owners were caught operating an entertainment bar by locking the doors and serving only reserved customers to evade inspection. In Incheon, on the 5th at 9:25 p.m., 9 people including business owners were caught operating a singing practice room by turning off the signboard lights and locking the doors to avoid inspection.

Additionally, in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the 1st at 9:30 p.m., 25 people including business owners were arrested for employing 7 foreign entertainment workers to operate their business. In Daejeon, on the 4th at 4:30 a.m., 12 people including owners of a singing room were caught operating an unlicensed entertainment bar by employing 2 entertainment workers.

The police will continue cracking down on illegal entertainment establishments until the 14th of this month, when the Lunar New Year holiday ends. Targets include businesses registered as singing practice rooms that are covertly operating unlicensed entertainment bars, or those registered as regular restaurants but operating in the form of unlicensed entertainment bars serving only reserved customers to evade inspection.

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