Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
100,000 won fine to be imposed for not wearing face masks at public facilities
An official from local public health center puts posters explaining that mask wearing is mandatory in public facilities, on the wall of a cafe in Gwangju, Thursday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
People not wearing face masks in public facilities will face fines of 100,000 won ($89) starting Friday, following toughened anti-COVID-19 measures.
The health authorities said Thursday that a one month grace period for the regulation has now ended and the fine will be imposed on all violators.
Public places subject to the rule will depend on the country's five levels for social distancing.
Under the current Level 1 guidelines, the mandatory rules are applied to public transportation, demonstration sites, medical institutions and pharmacies, nursing facilities, religious facilities, indoor sports stadiums, call centers, distribution and logistics centers, and meetings and events with more than 500 people.
Also 23 public facilities require people to wear masks, including bars, karaoke rooms, cafes and restaurants larger than 50 square meters, private academies, arcades, wedding halls, concert halls, theaters, water parks and department stores.
The fine can also be imposed on people who wear masks without covering their noses. Scarves and certain types of masks that do not properly prevent the spread of aerosol droplets will not be allowed.
However, people aged under 14 and those who are unable to wear masks due to medical conditions will be exempted from the fine. People will also be allowed to skip wearing masks in special cases, such as when they are washing their faces, eating or swimming.
“The fine will not be imposed immediately when a person is not wearing a mask at such facilities, but will be when the person refuses the facility operator's request to wear it,” an official of the health ministry said.
“As the winter season is expected to increase the risk of virus infection, wearing masks has become more important. Masks are the easiest and most certain measure that prevents infectious diseases from spreading,” said Han Je-hyun, head of the public health division of the Seoul metropolitan Government.
The stricter requirement has come as sporadic infection clusters from private gatherings and such public facilities have been emerging across the country.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 143 more infections for Wednesday, including 128 local cases, raising the total caseload to 27,942. The daily new cases have now recorded triple digits for a fifth straight day, although it marked a slight decrease from the previous day's 146, the KCDA said.
Among the newly detected locally transmitted cases, 52 were reported in Seoul, 34 in Gyeonggi Province and two in Incheon. South Chungcheong Province and South Jeolla Province added nine and eight additional cases, respectively. Gangwon Province and Gwangju, both reported six.
No additional deaths were reported, keeping the total at 487 with a fatality rate of 1.74 percent.