SEOUL CITY'S CLAMP DOWN ON ENT. FACILITIES

[Anchor Lead]

Sporadic COVID-19 infections continue at closed-off spaces such as singing rooms and bars. Seoul City and the police are clamping down on singing-bars this week regarding their abidance of quarantine guidelines. Were they following the rules? KBS accompanied a crackdown session last night. Take a look.

[Pkg]

​Sinsadong area in Seoul is home to a cluster of bar-slash-karaokes, a unique entertainment establishment in Korea. Inspectors barge into one of these nightlife venues.

[Soundbite] "We are here to conduct an inspection. We'll look around."

They check if the 8 key quarantine guidelines are being observed. This includes wearing masks, keeping a visitors log, maintaining 1 to 2 meters of distance between customers as well as disinfection and ventilation.

[Soundbite] "(Do you take customers' temperature?) The thermometer is here."

This particular location was complying with the guidelines so they could continue to operate. Here at another karaoke-bar.

[Soundbite] "(You're not wearing a mask.) I need to wear one?"

Both ledger on disinfection work and a visitor log were neither being properly recorded.

[Soundbite] "(You are not following the guidelines and thereby we issue a ban on gathering for this establishment, effective immediately.) You can't do that. We weren't open all month. There aren't many customers."]

The owners complain about realistic difficulties and also the issue of fairness.

[Soundbite] (NEARBY ESTABLISHMENT OWNER(VOICE ALTERED)) : "We receive one to two tables of customers for the whole day. Karaoke-bars are very small-scale, subsistence operations. We see customers clustered and eating together at other restaurants!"

Despite the protest, facilities that fail to abide by quarantine rules can not stay opened for business. Seoul City has issued an order of 'restricted gathering' on some 25-hundred karaoke-bars. It indicates that in order to operate, they must follow the guidelines. Violators will face a tougher order of a 'gathering ban.' After making a notice about clampdowns to come, officials inspected around one thousand-80 sites on Tuesday and Wednesday. Nearly 700 of them were following the rules while 380 places were temporarily closed. Only four received a suspension order.

[Soundbite] LEE UNG-JIN(SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOV'T) : "We are seeking cooperation in the compilation of visitor logs which include phone numbers to ensure a smooth process in later epidemiological surveys."

It's critical that establishments abide by designated regulations to help contain the coronavirus and also to continue to operate to make ends meet.