Violations of social distancing rules growing

By Bahk Eun-ji

Cases of people violating COVID-19 social distancing rules have been on the rise, as public awareness of compliance with the rules has loosened amid the protracted pandemic as well as expectations for an announced transition to a “living with COVID-19” policy.

It was found that on Sept. 18 during the Chuseok long weekend, 75 people visited a privately owned, mostly uninhabited island about 3.3 kilometers from Seungbong Island in Ongjin County, Incheon, by boat for a beach party.

Video footage of the party went viral on social media, showing about 20 tents set up on the beach, with people drinking alcohol and not wearing face masks. The event was organized by a Korean national who collected money from the participants, who were mostly foreigners.

At the time of the party, the greater Seoul area, which includes Incheon, was under Level 4 measures, the highest level of social distancing rules here.

Among the 75 partygoers, four tested positive later, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The party participants who uploaded the videos on social media deleted their posts as criticism grew, but calls have been mounting to take action against the participants, with a public petition being filed on Cheong Wa Dae's website.

However, Ongjin County said that it is difficult to impose fines on the partygoers as it doesn't possess enough information about the identities of those involved and it learned about the incident after they had already left the island.

“In principle, on-site crackdowns are the rule for minor violations of quarantine rules according to the guidelines, so it is difficult to impose fines because they have already left the island,” a county official said.

But the police have not bothered to investigate the partygoers or organizers. Instead they have been investigating a fisherman in his 50s, on suspicion he transported the partiers in his boat without a license for operating passenger ferry services.

As nightclubs are banned from operating in the metropolitan area under the Level 4 rules, some people are traveling to provinces where lighter rules are applied and clubs are still operating.

Recently, police found nightclub managers in Seoul's Gangnam District were renting buses and driving customers to clubs in Daegu, which is under Level 3 rules with nightclubs operating until 10 p.m.

But Daegu City and district offices there say it is difficult for them to crack down on the people from Seoul and impose fines on them, because they did not violate Level 3 rules in the city, as they were wearing masks and the clubs did not violate the cap on the number of people allowed inside.

According to a regional media report, tourists in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, went to the beach to dance and drink without wearing masks after cafes and restaurants closed their doors at 10 p.m.