Police Crack Down on Over 1,000 'Illegal Entertainment Venues'... 7,500 Owners and Others Caught

Photo of illegal entertainment facility crackdown.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] As the spread of COVID-19 continues, illegal operations of entertainment establishments have persisted, resulting in more than 7,500 violators being caught by the police.

According to the National Police Agency on the 12th, from July 3rd to the 10th of this month, over a 14-week period, the police deployed 40,940 officers and conducted joint inspections with local governments at 95,576 entertainment venues nationwide.

During this process, 1,052 cases of illegal activities including violations of quarantine guidelines and 7,579 individuals were apprehended. By type, there were 735 cases and 6,818 individuals violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act such as gathering bans, 51 cases and 451 individuals violating the Food Sanitation Act, and 266 cases and 310 individuals violating the Music Industry Act.

In Seoul, at around 12:15 a.m. on the 8th, 25 people including the owner and employees were caught secretly operating a host bar in Gangnam-gu for reserved customers. In Incheon, at 1:40 a.m. on the 4th, 49 people including the owner were caught secretly operating a nightlife bar in Michuhol-gu after blocking the emergency exit with a steel plate on a double door.

The police plan to continue special crackdowns for the time being. The main targets for enforcement are ▲ unauthorized (variant) operations ▲ violations of gathering bans and restriction orders ▲ other quarantine rule violations ▲ sale of alcohol and employment of attendants at singing practice rooms. The police are conducting continuous inspections and crackdowns on already penalized establishments, reporting tax data to the National Tax Service, and actively pursuing enforcement by proving collusion and filing charges when owners are absent at the scene.

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