Minister Park Yang-woo Inspects Quarantine Status at Sejong City Fitness Center

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo (left) visited the fitness center 'Body Fit' in Naseong-dong, Sejong City on the 29th to listen to field difficulties related to COVID-19 and to inspect the quarantine situation.
[Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Park Yang-woo, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, visited the fitness center 'Bodyfit' in Sejong City on the 29th to listen to the difficulties faced by private indoor sports facility operators and to inspect the quarantine situation.

Despite the challenging circumstances caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Minister Park encouraged and expressed gratitude to the industry officials who are striving to comply with quarantine rules such as ▲ checking visitors for symptoms (fever, respiratory symptoms, etc.) ▲ maintaining visitor logs ▲ wearing masks ▲ disinfecting auxiliary facilities.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented emergency measures to support the sports industry, which has faced difficulties due to assembly bans and other restrictions following the spread of COVID-19. These measures include ▲ sports industry loans (126.1 billion KRW) ▲ extension of loan principal maturity and repayment deferral (1 year) ▲ fostering the non-face-to-face sports coaching market (5.5 billion KRW) ▲ operation of a comprehensive counseling center ▲ support for quarantine supplies (for over 3,000 companies).

With the 4th supplementary budget, support is being provided to private indoor sports facilities through the New Hope Fund (1 to 2 million KRW) and low-interest loans (up to 10 million KRW, for 90,000 people).

Minister Park stated, "We are actively reflecting the difficulties faced by the sports industry due to COVID-19 in policy formulation," and urged, "We ask both the indoor sports facility industry and users to cooperate in creating an environment where indoor sports facilities can be used safely and hygienically by adhering to quarantine rules."

Meanwhile, Choi Yoon-hee, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, visited the camping site 'Daon Sup' in Sejong City on the same day to inspect the quarantine situation and hygiene of shared facilities within the campsite. She also checked the proper operation of fire prevention equipment such as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, and dedicated ground-fault circuit interrupters.