Coast Guard Investigates Man in His 50s Who Took Foreigners to Uninhabited Island for 'No-Mask Party'

Charging 15,000 KRW Per Person for About 10 Minutes on Fishing Boat... Suspected Violation of the Cable and Ferry Business Act

Foreigners holding a 'No Mask Party' on an uninhabited island in Incheon during the Chuseok holiday. / Photo by Twitter capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Amid controversy over foreigners holding a 'no-mask party' on the uninhabited island of Saseungbongdo in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, the Coast Guard is investigating a man in his 50s, the owner of a guesthouse, who transported them without a license.

On the 7th, the Incheon Coast Guard announced that they are investigating Mr. A, a man in his 50s and guesthouse owner, on charges of violating the Cable and Ferry Business Act.

Mr. A, who does not have a license for cable and ferry business, is suspected of transporting about 70 foreigners and others from Seungbongdo in Ongjin-gun, Incheon, to Saseungbongdo on the 18th of last month. He charged 15,000 won per person and ferried them by boat from Seungbongdo to Saseungbongdo, which takes about 10 minutes.

It was confirmed that these foreigners took a passenger ship from Bangameori Dock in Daebudo, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi Province, to Seungbongdo around 12:50 PM on the day, and then boarded Mr. A's boat to arrive at Saseungbongdo.

They set up about 20 tents in a row on the beach, and even at night, under the lights, they played loud music, mingled without masks, drank alcohol, and danced.

According to health authorities, among the 70 foreigners who held the party on Saseungbongdo from the 18th to the 21st of last month, four tested positive for COVID-19.

In relation to this, a post titled "Please punish those who held a group party on an uninhabited island to evade COVID-19 quarantine measures" along with a report video was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board.

A Coast Guard official said, "We plan to summon Mr. A soon to investigate the exact scale of the fare and whether he usually operated ferry services," adding, "We will strengthen crackdowns to prevent such incidents from happening again on the uninhabited island of Saseungbongdo."

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