Busan mayor violates social distancing rules by attending dinner party

By Kim Rahn

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon / Yonhap

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon violated social distancing rules in June by attending a dinner party with more than four people hosted by Lee Woon-kyung, wife of Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik, according to the police, Wednesday.

Lee held the party at her home in Seoul on June 19, with 14 people attending, including herself. At the time, a ban on private gatherings of more than four people was in place in the Seoul metropolitan area as a part of the government's social distancing measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.

The dinner party was reported to the police by a woman who was working as housekeeper at the chairman's house at the time. She submitted photos of the gathering as evidence, according to police.

After the violation was revealed on Sunday, Lee said that she had hosted the party to thank the people who had helped her with an event held in Busan in May, when she was the head of the Art Busan organizing committee.

Mayor Park also issued a statement, Wednesday, to express his regret for failing to abide by the social distancing measures. “I heard it was a gathering to wrap up the Art Busan event, so I thought that it was a public or official gathering. I did not eat at the time,” he said in the statement.

Police said that they will investigate the details of the case and inform the respective district offices where the participants reside of their violations, so that the offices will levy fines on them. The mayor is also likely to face a fine, which could be up to 3 million won ($2,553).