Jongno-gu Files Complaints Against Restaurant Owners and Self-Employed Group Leaders Operating 24-Hour Businesses

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The Jongno District Office in Seoul reported to the police a store owner who violated business hour restrictions by operating a 24-hour store and the representative of a self-employed business association.

According to the police on the 3rd, the Jongno District Office filed charges against Mr. A, the representative of a local sashimi restaurant, and Park Seong-min, the representative of the Korea Federation of Self-Employed Small and Medium Businesses, for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

From the 25th to the 27th, Mr. A and Representative Park continued business operations past the 10 PM curfew. At the time, Mr. A stated, "I did not receive any support because my sales exceeded the government’s required threshold," and added, "By enforcing 24-hour operation, I intend to express the dissatisfaction of self-employed business owners." According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, businesses in lodging and food service sectors with average sales exceeding 1 billion KRW before 2019 are not classified as small enterprises and thus are not eligible for compensation.

Representative Park said, "It is like telling self-employed people who risk their lives to go out to die," and added, "If even the Jongno District Mayor had come to the site and talked with the self-employed, the anger would not have escalated this much." According to the current Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, business owners who violate quarantine rules such as business restrictions must pay fines of 1 million KRW for the first violation, 1 million KRW for the second, and 2 million KRW for the third violation.

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