Ahead of Halloween Day, Electronic Entry Logs Checked at Seoul Itaewon Clubs and More

Seoul City to Enforce Compliance with Quarantine Rules at Multi-use Facilities on the 29th

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Seoul City announced on the 29th that it will inspect the compliance with electronic entry logs, focusing on restaurants around Itaewon, ahead of Halloween on the 31st, to prevent a recurrence of cases like the mass infection originating from Itaewon clubs last May.

Currently, 89 "COVID-19 Safety Keepers" are active in Seoul City to manage electronic entry logs at multi-use facilities. Working in pairs, they inspect around 20 facilities daily until December 17th, targeting over 40,500 high- and medium-risk facilities including hunting pubs, emotional bars, entertainment bars, karaoke bars, colatecs, buffets, as well as general restaurants, bakeries, water parks, religious facilities, and performance venues to check compliance with electronic entry log requirements.

Especially on the 29th, ahead of Halloween, they will visit restaurants around Itaewon to check adherence to quarantine rules. On this day, public officials from Seoul City will also accompany them for joint inspections.

The inspection will check the use of QR codes inside stores (Naver, Kakao, Zeropay, etc.), compliance with handwritten logs, mask-wearing, and administrative actions will be taken if violations are found. In particular, with the mask mandate in effect, promotional materials will be distributed informing that fines will be imposed for not wearing masks starting November 13th.

Han Je-hyun, Director General of Safety at Seoul City, said, "During the mass infection at Itaewon clubs last May, there were many difficulties in epidemiological investigations due to falsified entry logs," and added, "To prevent the prolonged spread of COVID-19, it is crucial to verify the movement paths of those subject to testing and conduct rapid testing. We ask all citizens to actively cooperate in filling out electronic entry logs."