Incheon Special Judicial Police Crack Down on Unregistered Lodging Facilities... "Concerns Over COVID-19 Quarantine Blind Spots"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Incheon Special Judicial Police will intensify crackdowns on unregistered lodging businesses starting in August.

The Special Judicial Police will compare and analyze online reservation sites such as Airbnb, one of the shared lodging platforms, with the lodging business registration status of military districts and wards to identify lodging businesses suspected of illegal operations.

They plan to focus investigations on businesses that rent out entire apartments or operate multiple rooms in villas or officetels where lodging business registration is not possible.

Lodging businesses must be registered with the head of the relevant military district or ward office under the "Public Health Control Act," and failure to register may result in imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW.

With the increase in social distancing levels due to the spread of COVID-19, many lodging businesses are facing difficulties such as room reservation restrictions. Unregistered lodging businesses are violating gathering bans and being used as temporary accommodations for self-quarantined individuals, placing them in administrative and quarantine blind spots.

In particular, unregistered lodging businesses have poor safety and hygiene management, such as fire safety, raising concerns about risks in the event of accidents.

Among four unregistered lodging businesses currently under investigation after being reported by the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority to the Special Judicial Police, one was found to have violated quarantine rules by accommodating 18 foreigners in a single room.

An Incheon city official stated, "Citizens need to verify whether a lodging business is registered when making reservations," adding, "We plan to conduct strong crackdowns to eradicate illegal lodging operations, eliminate blind spots in COVID-19 quarantine, and improve safety and hygiene service levels."

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