"Poor Ventilation and Crowded Students" ... Seoul City Orders Closure of All Coin Karaoke Rooms (Update)

The photo shows a coin karaoke room in Incheon visited by a confirmed COVID-19 patient.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the Seoul Metropolitan Government has effectively ordered all coin karaoke rooms to cease operations.

On the 22nd at 5 p.m., Seoul announced that, pursuant to the "Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act," it would issue an administrative order prohibiting gatherings at all 569 coin karaoke rooms within the city. The order will remain in effect until further notice.

Coin karaoke rooms, which operate in smaller spaces than regular karaoke rooms, have a closed structure that makes ventilation difficult, and many are unmanned facilities, making thorough quarantine management challenging. Earlier, Seoul conducted a focused inspection of quarantine status at all 569 coin karaoke rooms on the 18th and 19th of this month. Among the 493 currently operating, 219 locations, or 44%, were found to be non-compliant with quarantine guidelines.

The city explained that since coin karaoke rooms are places frequently visited by youths and students, and given the recent occurrence of multiple confirmed cases, the gathering ban order was issued before the weekend to prevent local transmission and spread of COVID-19.

Accordingly, from today, all coin karaoke room entrances will display a "Coin Karaoke Room Gathering Ban Notice" in accordance with the gathering ban order. The city stated that if a business continues operations in violation of the gathering ban and a COVID-19 case occurs, the business owner may be held liable for damages. Additionally, if a citizen visits a non-compliant establishment and is diagnosed with COVID-19, they will be responsible for their own medical expenses.

The city plans to conduct on-site quarantine inspections with the cooperation of local police stations and 25 autonomous districts until the 31st. Administrative actions such as prosecution and claims for damages will be pursued against coin karaoke rooms that do not comply with the gathering ban order.

Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, stated, "Many coin karaoke rooms operate unmanned and face difficulties in proper management due to ventilation issues and quarantine guidelines, so we are issuing an administrative order to ban gatherings starting today." He added, "Although regular karaoke rooms are not subject to the gathering ban, we ask that they also strive for thorough quarantine management in accordance with social distancing and quarantine rules in daily life."