[Report] First Day of Mandatory Masks on Public Transport... 'Sneaking On When Crowds Gather'

On the morning of the 26th at Gangnam Station, Seoul. Most people are passing through the ticket gates wearing masks.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] "Those not wearing masks, please wear a mask."

At around 7:10 a.m. on the 26th at Wangsimni Station in Seoul, Kim (60), who was managing the site, was busy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks had become routine, and most people wore masks, but occasionally some who forgot were noticeable. Each time, Kim would tell passengers, "Please wear a mask." For those who had not brought a mask, he asked them to purchase one at a nearby convenience store. Kim said, "There aren't many people not wearing masks, but when I ask those few to buy one at a convenience store, most respond willingly."

At around 8:30 a.m. at Gangnam Station, on-site management staff were also constantly watching their surroundings to find anyone not wearing a mask. When a passenger passed through the ticket gate without a mask, a staff member shouted loudly, "Please wear a mask."

On the first day of mandatory mask-wearing on public transportation, subway station staff were busy guiding mask-wearing as crowds gathered during the morning commute. This was to inform passengers to wear masks and to restrict access for those not wearing masks, as transportation operators and drivers were authorized to refuse boarding to passengers without masks. The day before, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced strengthened quarantine measures for transportation, allowing refusal of boarding for those not wearing masks on buses, subways, taxis, and other public transport. Penalties such as business suspension or fines for refusal of boarding were temporarily waived. This measure will be uniformly applied to flights starting from the 27th. Additionally, transportation operators and drivers are required to wear masks when passengers are on board, and if not complied with, city or provincial governors can issue improvement orders.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, blind spots also existed. When there were no on-site management staff or during crowded morning commutes, proper management was lacking. The reporter boarded a bus without wearing a mask but was not restricted from boarding. Multiple passengers boarded the bus at once, and the driver could not properly filter out those not wearing masks. Park Young-soon (58, female), who passed through exit 6 ticket gate at Wangsimni Station without a mask, said, "I was late for work and forgot to bring a mask," adding, "But I did not encounter anyone explaining mask-wearing or preventing boarding." Also, at Konkuk University Entrance Station ticket gate, no on-site management staff appeared, and some passengers entered the station without wearing masks without any particular sanctions.