[On-site Video] Bang! Bang! Bang! "Throw Away the Vaccine Pass!" Indoor Sports Facility Workers' 'Anger'

Indoor Sports Facility Owners Hold Rally Demanding Immediate Withdrawal of Vaccine Pass!

[Asia Economy Reporters Seunggon Han, PD Jingeun Yoon, Intern PD Hyewon Lim] "Throw away the vaccine pass!", "Withdraw political quarantine!"

On the 3rd, indoor sports groups such as Pilates took to the streets in protest against the government's 'quarantine pass' (vaccine pass, vaccination certificate/negative test confirmation system) policy. They claimed that the reality of indoor sports facilities under the With-Corona implementation is no different from the 'Fifth Republic military dictatorship era,' and among the 99 participants, 10 wore military uniforms and performed a gun-firing performance.

The Korea Indoor Sports Facilities Federation, Pilates Fitness Business Federation, Yoga Emergency Countermeasures Committee, and others held a rally in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, strongly criticizing the quarantine pass policy.

Park Juhyung, spokesperson for the Korea Indoor Sports Facilities Federation, expressed frustration, saying, "We have to refund 15% to unvaccinated customers who were using the facilities normally," adding, "The refund amount is tens of millions of won."

Kang Kiyoung, emergency committee chairman of the Korea Yoga Association, also pointed out, "There are many cases on site where people cannot get vaccinated due to pregnancy or chronic illnesses and have no choice but to manage their physical strength through exercise." Another rally participant raised their voice, saying, "Restaurants are excluded from the 'vaccine pass' policy because meals fall under food among medical, food, and housing needs, but cafes are essential and thus allowed. If you have learned the words fairness and equity, please set quarantine guidelines fairly and equitably accordingly."

During the rally, they showed a performance where people dressed in pre-prepared military uniforms fired guns at facility operators with the slogan "Targeting facility operators, firing."

Meanwhile, they announced plans to file a class-action lawsuit against the government at the Seoul Central District Court on the 4th. Representative Park Juhyung stated, "On the 4th, 480 indoor sports facility businesses will file a class-action lawsuit against the government at the Seoul Central District Court seeking compensation for damages due to business restrictions."

Earlier, the government transitioned to a With-Corona quarantine system starting from the 1st. Accordingly, all facilities except entertainment venues can operate 24 hours. However, multi-use facilities with concerns about transmission within the facility have introduced the 'vaccine pass,' such as vaccination certificates and negative test confirmations.

The relevant industries include five types of multi-use facilities: entertainment venues, indoor sports facilities, karaoke rooms, bathhouses, and horse racing, cycle racing, motorboat racing, and casino businesses. These correspond to about 130,000 out of 2.09 million multi-use facilities.

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