Hiding in Boiler Rooms, Verbal Abuse and Quarrels... The "Cheontae Mansang" of Illegal Entertainment Businesses

Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee, Food Policy Division, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Autonomous Districts Conduct Joint Late-Night Crackdown
64 People Caught at 2 Businesses Violating Quarantine Rules in Joint Operation with Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee announced on the 29th that it has identified 64 people, including business owners who violated the midnight entertainment facility gathering ban notice and customers at two establishments, and decided to impose criminal penalties and fines.

The Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee formed a joint crackdown team with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Seoul Food Policy Division, Gangnam Police Station, Gangnam District Office, and Gangnam Fire Station to conduct a focused midnight crackdown on the 26th.

Regarding the A general restaurant in Sinsa-dong that was caught this time, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, based on intelligence that there was a business illegally employing female workers to entertain customers in Sinsa-dong, established a crackdown plan together with the Seoul city government. The joint crackdown team was on stakeout around the establishment at 11:30 p.m. and entered the moment an employee opened the building entrance door. When the owner locked the basement entrance door and refused to open it, after several notices of forced opening, the business voluntarily opened the door, and the crackdown began.

The crackdown revealed that despite being a general restaurant, the establishment illegally employed female workers without permission to serve alcohol to customers, violating the Food Sanitation Act and the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. The business owner, customers, and female workers who violated related laws will face criminal charges and administrative penalties such as fines.

Regarding the B general restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency received intelligence that a general restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong was conducting unlicensed entertainment business by charging 300,000 KRW per person and allowing customers to enjoy entertainment with female workers through advance reservations, and established a crackdown plan with the Seoul city government. The joint crackdown team conducted a stakeout around the establishment from 7 p.m., and after confirming customers entering at 11 p.m., entered the establishment.

The joint crackdown team was unable to get the door opened, so with the help of the fire authorities, forcibly opened the door. After the door was opened, customers and female workers hurriedly fled to the boiler room inside the establishment. The team again forcibly opened the door with the cooperation of the fire authorities and conducted the crackdown. During the process, the owner verbally abused and provoked the crackdown team, obstructing the lawful crackdown.

The crackdown team confirmed that the owner was operating in violation of related regulations and arrested the owner on the spot. Customers and female workers will also face criminal charges and administrative penalties such as fines.

Over the past three weeks, the crackdown team has targeted six establishments violating gathering ban notices and unlicensed entertainment business regulations, identifying 284 people including owners, employees, and customers, and taking measures such as criminal penalties and fines. In addition to the joint crackdown team’s efforts, continuous crackdowns were conducted at police stations and district offices during this period, identifying 139 people at 14 establishments for violations such as gathering ban rules, with judicial and administrative actions underway.

Cases identified during the three-week crackdown included establishments disguising themselves as closed to avoid gathering ban notices while secretly operating, illegally employing and entertaining customers with female workers through advance reservations after receiving money in advance, and creating secret hidden spaces to hide female workers to evade authorities’ crackdowns but getting caught.

The joint crackdown team plans to continue ongoing crackdowns on violations of gathering ban regulations at entertainment establishments by various agencies. If necessary, the Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will conduct joint crackdowns as needed to fully focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Kim Hak-bae, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Autonomous Police Committee, said, "As a result of the joint crackdown over the past three weeks, we have achieved significant results in preventing the spread of COVID-19 by cracking down on establishments violating regulations and imposing criminal penalties on owners." He added, "We will actively perform roles such as joint crackdowns with related agencies to ensure that the efforts of quarantine authorities and citizens are not in vain in preventing the spread of COVID-19."

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