Unvaccinated Individuals Allowed Solo Use of Cafes and Restaurants
Lists of Restaurants Blocking Unvaccinated Users Also Shared
"Borrowing Quarantine Pass IDs for 50,000 Won" Illegal Transactions Reported
On the second day of the 'Mandatory Quarantine Pass' policy, on the afternoon of the 14th, citizens are waiting to check in with QR codes. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] To curb the rapid spread of COVID-19, the government implemented the 'Quarantine Pass (Vaccination Certificate/Negative Test Confirmation)' system. Accordingly, unvaccinated individuals are only allowed to use cafes and restaurants alone.
However, dissatisfaction is growing as claims have emerged that some establishments are even refusing unvaccinated individuals from dining alone. Eventually, posts offering to illegally trade others' quarantine passes appeared on online communities.
The government has been enforcing strengthened social distancing measures for 16 days from the 18th of last month to January 2. The newly released guidelines include a nationwide limit of four people for private gatherings, operating hours restricted until 9 p.m. for restaurants, cafes, and entertainment facilities, reduction in the scale of large events and assemblies, and the application of the quarantine pass. Among these, the quarantine pass allows an exception only for unvaccinated individuals dining alone. In other words, unvaccinated people are only permitted to eat alone.
However, according to various online communities and social networking services (SNS) recently, there have been reports of even solo diners being refused. One netizen said, "I went to a gukbap (soup with rice) restaurant alone to have a meal but was chased away by the owner," adding, "I was clearly told that dining alone is allowed even without a quarantine pass, but the restaurant owner told me to leave because I wasn't vaccinated," expressing frustration.
Another netizen complained, "When they asked to see my quarantine pass, I said I thought it didn't matter if I was alone, but they retorted that I should come back after getting vaccinated," adding, "If there were more customers, I probably would have just been kicked out."
A social networking service (SNS) account sharing a list of stores refusing entry to unvaccinated individuals (above) and a post proposing to 'illegally trade' quarantine passes. / Photo by Online Community Capture
In the self-employed community 'Because It Hurts, I'm the Boss,' a poll was conducted on whether to reject unvaccinated customers. More than half of the respondents, 54.4%, answered that there is definitely a problem.
An SNS account sharing a list of restaurants refusing unvaccinated customers also appeared. As of the morning of the 20th, this account had over 2,000 followers, and the list of restaurants exceeded 80 places.
Controversy escalated when a post offering to 'illegally trade' quarantine passes was uploaded. The netizen proposed on a secondhand goods trading site, "I will rent a fully vaccinated portal site ID for 50,000 won." Other netizens who saw the post criticized it as "reckless behavior," "clearly illegal," and "this is why the COVID-19 crisis is worsening."
Meanwhile, if quarantine passes are not checked at establishments such as restaurants and cafes, fines are imposed on both operators and users. Facilities violating the quarantine pass rules face fines of 1.5 million won for the first offense and 3 million won for the second offense.
Business suspension penalties are also imposed. For the first offense, operations are suspended for 10 days; for the second, 20 days; for the third, 3 months; and for the fourth offense, administrative closure of the facility may be enforced.
Users who enter restaurants, cafes, etc., without having their quarantine pass checked must pay a fine of 100,000 won.
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