An entertainment bar in Incheon was caught by the police for operating illegally late at night after locking its doors. [Photo by Incheon Police Agency]
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Despite strengthened quarantine measures due to the spread of the '4th wave' of COVID-19, some entertainment establishments are still locking their doors late at night and continuing illegal operations.
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 1st that from the 3rd to the 31st of last month, they conducted a special crackdown on entertainment facilities in cooperation with local governments and caught 71 businesses violating COVID-19 quarantine guidelines.
The police booked 275 people, including owners of 17 entertainment bars and 54 karaoke rooms, without detention on charges of violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act, and imposed fines on 165 people.
On the 20th of last month, at around 11:20 p.m., an entertainment bar in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon was caught operating illegally with the owner, two employees, and 24 customers all apprehended at once. It was found that this entertainment bar locked its doors and took reservations in advance from regular customers to conduct illegal operations late at night.
In the early morning of the 16th of last month, an entertainment bar in Gyeyang-gu was similarly caught operating illegally. The owner, five employees, and 31 customers were arrested by the police.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Incheon City issued a gathering ban order on 1,651 entertainment facilities in the region starting from April this year.
To curb the spread of the 4th wave of COVID-19, the government raised the 'social distancing' level in the metropolitan area to the highest level, Level 4, starting from the 12th of last month.
From January this year to last month, there were a total of 355 violations of quarantine rules at entertainment facilities in Incheon, with 2,423 people either criminally charged or fined.
The Incheon Police Agency plans to strengthen patrols mainly in areas where young people gather, such as Rodeo in Guwol-dong, Juan 2030 Street, and Bupyeong Theme Street, by mobilizing all available personnel including police riot squads and local police volunteers.
Additionally, to prevent collusion with businesses and leaks of crackdown information in advance, joint crackdowns will be conducted in a cross-regional manner among police stations.
Song Minheon, Chief of the Incheon Police Agency, said, "Since the current spread of COVID-19 is an emergency situation that greatly threatens citizens' daily lives, we plan to strongly crack down on violations of quarantine guidelines in cooperation with local governments."
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