ILLEGALLY OPERATING BUSINESSES

[Anchor Lead]

Police cracked down on establishments that violated disease control regulations and continued to secretly operate beyond the 10 p.m. curfew. Some bars even leased several motel rooms to accept customers for drinking.

[Pkg]

It is nearly midnight. The sign on this bar is turned off. But at a motel guestroom located on the fifth floor of the same building...

[Soundbite] "Oh, my! (Police.)"

police officers find a big table set up for a night of partying. From liquor bottles and food to an ice bucket, the setup is exactly like any ordinary bar. Officers discovered the same settings at other rooms. One man was so drunk even a police raid could not disturb his slumber.

[Soundbite] (Bar Employee(Voice Modified)) : "I got a call from a man I know who told me that I can make some money here."

This was an illegal bar that operated in motel rooms to avoid police detection. Empty bottles litter the staircase and officers found a document that recorded the room numbers of bar patrons. The bar owner at first denies everything

[Soundbite] (Bar Owner(Voice Modified)) : "(Isn’t this your record-keeping book?) It’s for designated drivers. (It shows all the room numbers.)"

A customer argues that he has done no wrong.

[Soundbite] (Bar Customer) : "What’s the problem? (I told you that we’re cracking down on illegally operated bars.　They are doing business illegally out of a motel during the gathering ban period.)"

The motel owner claims that he had no idea what was going on in the rooms.

[Soundbite] (Motel Owner(Voice Modified)) : "Other guests often bring their own drinks. I can’t check what they’re doing in the　room with the drinks."

Last Friday alone, 28 bars were caught operating illegally like this in the southern region of Gyeonggi-do Province. Police plans to investigate 210 employees and customers for violating the Infectious Disease Prevention Act and notify the local governments.