Starting Tomorrow, Entertainment Venues in the Seoul Metropolitan Area and Busan Are Prohibited from Gathering... Level 2 Restrictions Maintained in the Seoul Metropolitan Area for 3 Weeks

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As the crisis of the fourth wave of COVID-19 approaches, from the 12th, all entertainment establishments in the metropolitan area and Busan will be completely banned from operating.

On the 11th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that the current "social distancing" measures (Level 2 in the metropolitan area, Level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas), which were scheduled to end that day, will be extended for an additional three weeks until the 2nd of next month. In addition, entertainment facilities, identified as one of the main causes of recent cluster infections, will be banned from operating in the metropolitan area and Busan.

Another key quarantine rule, the ban on private gatherings of five or more people, will also be extended. However, exceptions allowing up to eight people will be made for immediate family members, formal meetings such as marriage introductions, and gatherings including infants and young children. Furthermore, the government is reportedly considering reinstating the operating hours restriction for multi-use facilities back to 9 PM, after easing it to 10 PM led to an increase in cluster infections. However, for the time being, the current measures will be maintained, with plans to revert operating hour restrictions if the situation worsens.

From the 12th, in Level 2 social distancing areas such as the metropolitan area and Busan, operation of five types of entertainment facilities (yuhengjupum [entertainment bars], danranjupum [karaoke bars], colatec [dance clubs], gamseongjupum [emotional bars], hunting pocha [hunting pubs]) and hold'em pubs will be prohibited in principle.

Earlier, in February, the government had lifted the ban on gatherings at these facilities, which were originally prohibited under Level 2 social distancing, on the condition of strict compliance with core quarantine rules. However, following intensified police crackdowns starting on the 5th, 206 people were booked for violating quarantine guidelines within two days, and as of the 10th, the number of confirmed cases linked to a cluster infection at a Busan entertainment bar reached 362 (227 directly related), showing that cluster infections centered around entertainment facilities are rapidly escalating.

However, while deciding on the ban on gatherings at these facilities, the government stated that depending on the autonomous efforts of entertainment facilities to strictly comply with quarantine rules, local governments could ease the ban by replacing it with a 10 PM operating hour restriction. Nevertheless, Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, and Busan all decided to enforce the ban on gatherings at these facilities.

Other local governments that separately decided to raise to Level 2, such as Daejeon, Jeonju in Jeonbuk, and Jinju and Geoje in Gyeongnam, have decided to maintain operating hour restrictions. Although Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, upon taking office, expressed that "government measures that do not consider the characteristics of each industry should be reconsidered," and there was speculation that operating hour restrictions rather than bans might be chosen, the final decision was to prohibit operations. Regarding this, Mayor Oh explained, "Since the spread of COVID-19 is serious, we decided to follow the government's measures as they are, but we believe that proceeding while consulting with the central government on the plan prepared by Seoul City is the way to reassure the public."

On April 7, the day of the by-elections, citizens lined up to vote at Hapjeong-dong 3rd Polling Station set up at Hapjeong-dong Community Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Besides this, the government plans to maintain the current social distancing levels for three weeks starting from the 12th, but if the situation does not improve, it will strengthen operating hour restrictions on multi-use facilities in Level 2 areas and may begin reviewing the possibility of raising social distancing levels at any time during the three-week period.

On the 9th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters, stated in a briefing that if the situation worsens and the trend of infections continues to rise, "even within the three-week period, we will discuss imposing a 9 PM operating restriction or raising the metropolitan area to Level 2.5."

Previously, on February 8th, the government eased the 9 PM operating hour restriction to 10 PM for non-metropolitan multi-use facilities such as singing rooms, indoor sports facilities, bathhouses, restaurants and cafes, party rooms, indoor standing concert halls, and door-to-door sales promotion centers. The metropolitan area also eased the restriction to 10 PM starting February 15th. However, if the spread of COVID-19 continues, the government plans to move the restriction back to 9 PM to curb the spread.

Other restrictions in Level 2 areas will remain unchanged. Weddings and funerals are limited to fewer than 100 attendees in the same space. Exhibitions, fairs, and international conferences are not subject to the 100-person limit but are restricted to one person per 4 square meters of facility area.

In movie theaters and performance halls, seats must be spaced with one seat gap between groups. Sports events are limited to 10% of the venue's capacity, and religious facilities are limited to 20% of seating capacity.

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