Seoul City "Reports Funeral Committee Member of Late Baek Giwan for Violating Infectious Disease Control Act"

Unauthorized Installation of Memorial Altar at Seoul Plaza, 2.67 Million Won Fine Planned for Mid-Next Month

On the morning of the 19th, the funeral ceremony for the late Baek Gi-wan, director of the Unification Issue Research Institute, was held at Sonamu-gil, Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, where bereaved family members and mourners held a memorial service. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to file charges under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act against the officials of the 'Nonamegi Sesang Baek Gi-wan Teacher Social Funeral Committee,' which hosted the funeral ceremony last week for the late Baek Gi-wan, head of the Unification Issues Research Institute.

On the 22nd, Kim Hyuk, Director of the General Affairs Division of Seoul City, explained in an online briefing, "The funeral committee officials set up a memorial altar at Seoul Plaza on the 18th and held the funeral ceremony on the 19th," adding, "At one point, the number of participants exceeded 100, violating the Level 2 social distancing quarantine rules."

He further stated, "We plan to take legal action against the funeral ceremony organizers for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act."

Seoul City also plans to impose a compensation fee of 2.67 million KRW for the unauthorized use of Seoul Plaza to set up the memorial altar. The imposition of the compensation fee will be carried out by mid-next month after the relevant administrative procedures.

Since February last year until the end of March this year, Seoul Plaza has been closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In Seoul and the metropolitan area, an administrative order banning gatherings of more than 100 people under Level 2 social distancing is in effect.

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