Trick Gatherings and Illicit Business Practices... Collapsed Quarantine Rules

Clubs Crowded with Guests from Daytime
Only Warnings and Fines Issued Even When Caught

Groups of More Than Five at Restaurants
Gatherings and Company Dinners with Tables Spaced Apart

Growing Fatigue and Vaccination Lead to Loosening Vigilance on Quarantine Measures

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungdon Yoo, Seungyoon Song, Jeongyun Lee] Around 2 p.m. on the 6th, at a club in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Normally, the club doors would be firmly closed at this time, but more than 100 young people were pressed together, moving their bodies to the music. The dazzling lights, singing, and cheers mixed together made it easy to forget it was daytime. Those visiting the club seemed to momentarily forget the situation caused by COVID-19.

Earlier, in a joint crackdown by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, district offices, and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, nine clubs located in Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu were caught violating quarantine rules. At the time, these clubs had cases of violations such as prohibition of dancing, limiting one person per 8㎡, maintaining a 1-meter distance between users, electronic entry log registration, disinfection log maintenance, and mandatory mask-wearing by users. These clubs received a first warning along with a fine of 1.5 million KRW. However, they have continued operations while avoiding a two-week assembly ban.

On the 12th, it will be one year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the pandemic. Masks have become mandatory, and social distancing, remote work, and refraining from gatherings have naturally become part of daily life. However, as strict social distancing continues, some citizens express fatigue, and daily quarantine efforts remain precarious. A large department store recently opened in Yeouido attracted 2 million visitors in just ten days. Last weekend, the restaurants and stores were so crowded that there was barely room to move, and people lined up closely together due to the crowds. At one store, a customer looking for an employee to purchase a product eventually left due to the long wait. Although staff instructed customers to keep at least three escalator steps apart, many customers ignored this guidance. Measures such as weekend vehicle restrictions to reduce crowd density were implemented, but compared to the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak when large marts and department stores were quiet, awareness of quarantine seems to have noticeably dulled.

In indoor sports facilities including gyms, social distancing is not easily maintained, and those exercising outdoors often discard masks because they find it hard to breathe. Some unscrupulous restaurants continue to operate by seating more than five customers at tables separated only by partitions. According to a survey conducted by Professor Yoom Soo-nsoon’s team at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, involving 1,084 adult men and women from August 25-28 last year and February 8-17 this year, the perception that society and one’s own life are in crisis has decreased compared to six months ago. The proportion of people viewing Korean society as heading toward crisis was 66.3%, down 17.4 percentage points from the first survey in August last year (83.7%) during the second wave. When asked the same question about ‘my (your) life,’ the figure dropped from 81.7% to 70.9%, a decrease of 10.8 percentage points.

Professor Chun Eun-mi of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Ewha Mokdong Hospital explained, "Currently, it is a significant time as vaccination has begun," adding, "Since the COVID-19 virus can become more active during seasonal changes, it is essential to strictly follow personal quarantine measures such as social distancing." She continued, "In Israel, vaccination proceeded smoothly, and social distancing was relaxed, but COVID-19 spread again," emphasizing, "Vaccination is not the end, and existing quarantine policies must continue together."