Seoul City "Extension of Entertainment Venue Operating Hours 'Undecided'... Will Consult with Government"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that although it has gathered opinions from related associations regarding the extension of business hours for entertainment facilities, nothing has been finalized yet, and it will consult with the government moving forward.

According to Seoul City on the 14th, the city conducted a consultation with related associations of entertainment facilities, restaurants, and cafes regarding the basic quarantine rules that must be followed regardless of the government's social distancing level, which was established on February 19.

Seoul City explained, "To promptly review business hours and quarantine rules suitable for the type of business, on the 10th (Saturday), we reconfirmed the proposed business hours and rules, which were sent via email rather than official documents, by inquiring opinions from each association." It added, "Seoul City has not finalized business hours and received opinions based on that."

Previously, the Entertainment Facilities Association proposed desired business hours and feasible quarantine rules, suggesting that entertainment pubs operate until midnight, colatecs until 10 p.m., and pubs until 11 p.m.

Going forward, Seoul City announced that it will thoroughly review the timing and methods considering the trends of COVID-19 cluster infections.

Seoul City stated, "We plan to prepare adjusted quarantine guidelines by continuously gathering opinions from related associations while considering cluster infection trends and vaccination rates," and explained, "We will make the final decision after consulting with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, including ensuring fairness with Gyeonggi Province and Incheon City in the metropolitan area."

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