[Exclusive] "They said quarantine was thorough"... On the day a confirmed case appeared in a movie theater, the government released 4,400 discount coupons

Confirmed COVID-19 Case Visited Yongsan CGV on April 15-16 Last Month
Government Discount Coupons Widely Used During This Period
Baehyeonjin: "Ministry of Culture Failed to Prevent Usage... Policy Contradicts Strict Quarantine and Social Distancing"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] It has been confirmed that more than 4,000 movie discount coupons distributed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to stimulate consumption were used at the relevant cinema on the same day a COVID-19 case was confirmed.

In particular, usage was concentrated on the 15th and 16th of last month, when the resurgence of COVID-19 was at a critical point. Contrary to the explanation that the coupons were used "under thorough quarantine measures," there are criticisms that this created a blind spot in quarantine, exposing the public to infection risks.

According to data obtained by Rep. Bae Hyunjin of the People Power Party from the Korea Film Council on the 9th, the first confirmed case visited Yongsan CGV on the 15th of last month, but the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism did not stop distributing discount coupons and continued until the 17th. Another confirmed case visited Yongsan CGV on the 16th, and they actually watched a movie.

A total of 6,806 discount coupons were used at Yongsan CGV over four days. Of these, 4,396 were used during the two days when confirmed cases appeared. Most of the discount coupons were used intensively on the days when confirmed cases were reported. The Ministry distributed discount coupons from the 14th to the 17th of last month, with a total of 498,395 coupons worth 3.021 billion KRW used (based on the four major multiplex chains).

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters classifies movie theaters as "medium-risk multi-use facilities." Minister Park Yang-woo of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism emphasized on the 25th of last month at the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee plenary session that the coupons were used "under thorough quarantine measures" in response to criticism calling it a "careless policy," but in reality, they failed to respond promptly to the occurrence of confirmed cases.

Total Number of Movie Theater Visitors and COVID-19 Confirmed Cases Trend (Provided by Assemblywoman Baehyun-jin's Office)

The fact that the distribution of discount coupons contradicts the government's emphasis on "social distancing" is also confirmed by statistics. The number of moviegoers, which had remained in the 200,000 to 300,000 range before the coupons were issued, surged to 400,000 to 600,000 from the 14th to the 17th when the coupons were distributed. Although new COVID-19 cases rapidly increased from 85 on the 14th to 155 on the 15th and 267 on the 16th, the number of moviegoers actually increased due to the influence of the discount coupons.

Rep. Bae stated, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's contradictory policy hindered quarantine efforts and directly exposed the public to infection risks," adding, "It is understood that there are plans for additional distribution, but the project should not be resumed due to budget reasons until the COVID-19 situation stabilizes."