'Late-Night Operation' Gangnam Entertainment Venue Owner and 98 Customers Reported... Police Investigation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The police are conducting an investigation into the owner and customers of a nightlife bar in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, who were caught twice for violating the gathering restriction order by operating irregularly late at night.

According to the police on the 14th, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul is investigating a case in which Gangnam-gu reported on the 12th the owner, staff, and 98 customers of a nightlife bar in Yeoksam-dong for violating the administrative order to prohibit gatherings (violation of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act).

They are accused of operating and using the bar past the business restriction time of 10 p.m. on the 30th of last month. At that time, the police responded to a report that "the bar was still operating" after 11 p.m. and caught them. The bar had already been issued a 10-day administrative order to prohibit gatherings after being caught operating past 10 p.m. on the 24th of last month.

Under social distancing level 2 in the metropolitan area, from mid-February until the 11th of this month, the operating hours of six types of entertainment facilities?including nightlife bars, danran bars, emotional bars, colatecs, hunting pochas, and holdem pubs?were restricted until 10 p.m. However, as the risk of the "4th wave" increased and the quarantine situation did not improve, the government, starting from the 12th of this month, has in principle prohibited gatherings at entertainment facilities in level 2 social distancing areas such as the metropolitan area and Busan.

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