Police Crackdown on 'Illegal Entertainment Venues' Enters 15th Week... 7,800 Owners and Others Caught

Photo evidence of crackdown on illegal entertainment establishments.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the spread of COVID-19 continues, illegal operations of entertainment establishments have persisted, resulting in over 7,800 violators being caught by the police.

According to the National Police Agency on the 12th, from July 3rd to the 17th of this month, over a 15-week period, the police deployed 41,863 officers and conducted joint inspections with local governments on 99,093 entertainment establishments nationwide.

During this process, 1,091 cases of illegal activities including violations of quarantine guidelines were cracked down on, involving 7,896 individuals. By type, there were 768 cases and 7,127 people violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act such as gathering bans, 52 cases and 454 people violating the Food Sanitation Act, and 271 cases and 315 people violating the Music Industry Act.

In Seoul, on the 15th at around 10:50 p.m., 45 people including business owners and employees were caught operating secretly by turning off the signboard lights and locking the door at an entertainment bar located in Gangnam-gu. In Busan, on the 14th at around 11 p.m., 25 people including the owner were caught operating in the same manner at an entertainment bar in Haeundae-gu. Additionally, in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the 16th at around 11:40 p.m., 14 people including the owner were caught by the police for secretly operating a karaoke bar for reserved customers.

The police plan to continue special crackdowns for the time being. The main targets for enforcement are ▲ unauthorized (variant) operations ▲ violations of gathering bans and restriction orders ▲ other quarantine rule violations ▲ sale of alcohol and employment of hostesses at singing practice rooms. The police are conducting continuous inspections and crackdowns on establishments already caught, notifying the National Tax Service of taxation data, and actively pursuing enforcement by proving conspiratorial relationships and filing charges when the owner is not present at the scene.