Storeowners in the Greater Seoul Area Protest Business Restrictions: Stores to Remain Open Until Midnight to Protest Government Measures

[경향신문]

An Empty Street Lined with Restaurants: In a street lined with restaurants in front of Konkuk University in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, usually crowded with young people, is empty on the morning of February 7, a Sunday. Kwon Do-hyun

Restaurants and cafes outside the greater Seoul area can remain open until 10 p.m. beginning February 8, but the current business restrictions (business hours until 9 p.m.) will be maintained in the Seoul metropolitan area due to concerns of a resurge of the novel coronavirus. Self-employed business owners in the greater Seoul area announced that they would object the latest government decision and stage a demonstration by remaining open past the time designated by the state.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters announced on February 7 that the government would ease some of its disease prevention measures outside the greater Seoul area after taking into consideration the livelihood of storeowners. Due to the latest measure, public facilities such as restaurants, cafes, indoor sports facilities, singing rooms, door-to-door sales firms, indoor standing performance halls, and party rooms can remain open for business until 10 p.m.

Business restrictions for businesses in the Seoul metropolitan area will remain the same, so stores can only operate until 9 p.m. Since 70% of all new COVID-19 cases are concentrated in the greater Seoul area, the government decided that there was still a risk of another wave of the virus. In the past week (Jan. 31-Feb. 6), the daily average of new cases outside the greater Seoul area fell below 100, but the number remained in the mid 200s for the third consecutive week in the Seoul metropolitan area. The basic reproduction number, which indicates the number of people infected by one confirmed case, also rose to nearly 1 recently from 0.79 a month ago.

The government decided to implement a “One Strike and You’re Out” policy for public facilities that violate disease prevention guidelines and shut the facilities down for two weeks in addition to fines.

Storeowners in the greater Seoul area immediately opposed the latest decision. A group representing storeowners in the response to COVID-19 said, “We will no longer accept, but object preventive measures that only force us to sacrifice,” and announced plans to stage a demonstration by keeping their stores open until February 9. Certain stores will keep their lights on after 9 p.m. without operating the business. If the government does not change its guidelines, they are willing to continue business operations even after the designated time. Son Young-rae, director of social strategy at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters said, “The situation in the greater Seoul area continues to call for caution,” and added, “We ask the storeowners to understand that these measures are inevitable.”

The current level of physical (social) distancing (2.5 for the greater Seoul area, and 2 for other areas) will last until February 14. The ban on private gatherings of five or more people will also continue into the Lunar New Year holiday.