A restaurant in the Shinchon district in western Seoul is closed on Aug. 20, 2021. A notice put on the window says the store will reopen after the end of the ongoing Level 4 social distancing restrictions. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Owners of restaurants and cafes are fiercely protesting against the government’s decision on Friday to reduce their nighttime hours of operation by one to counter spreading COVID-19 infections at multi-use facilities.
While extending the toughest Level 4 restrictions for another two weeks until Sept. 5 in the capital area and some other regions, the government mandated all affected restaurants and cafes to close by 9 p.m., one hour earlier than the current 10 p.m.
They are allowed to serve only takeout and delivery from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Singing rooms, indoor gyms, cram schools and internet cafes will be excluded from the mandatory business hour reduction.
Panic-stricken owners of restaurants and cafes are complaining that the 9 p.m. curfew could deal a fatal blow to their struggle for survival.
An association of self-employed people issued an angry statement vowing to stage protest rallies nationwide as long as the government continues to shift the responsibility for the explosive growth of COVID-19 cases to the self-employed and impose restrictions on their business operations.
“We have not been properly compensated for losses though our property rights have been restricted so far. Nevertheless, the government pushes to further toughen regulations and asks us to close at 9 p.m. It may no longer regard the self-employed as its people,” the statement said.
A Myeongdong shopping street in central Seoul is quiet on Aug. 20, 2021, amid the government’s prolonged business restrictions imposed to fight COVID-19. (Yonhap)
A 50-something man, who runs a meat restaurant in Incheon, west of Seoul, vented his resentment after asking whether his customers eat early or a little later in the evening has anything to do with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Customers usually take at least two hours into consideration before they grill meat and have a drink at my restaurant. If the closing hour is advanced to 9 p.m., customers who used to visit around 8 p.m. won’t come,” the restaurant owner said.
Kim Seong-chan, 46, who runs a beer bar near Konkuk University in eastern Seoul, said he felt “stabbed in the back” after hearing of the 9 p.m. curfew as well as the extension of Level 4 distancing rules.
“Most customers come to beer bars around 8:30 p.m. after dinner appointments. The 9 p.m. closure hour means a shutdown order for us all,” Kim said.
The self-employed people also leveled criticism at the government’s decision to exclude fully vaccinated people from the private gathering restrictions.
At present, private gatherings of up to two people are allowed after 6 p.m. in Level 4 regions. Under the new rule, however, as many as four people, including two fully vaccinated people, can get together in those regions after 6 p.m.
Cafe and restaurant owners say the relaxed rule on private gatherings will be virtually meaningless, as the vast majority of those aged between 18 and 49 have yet to be vaccinated.
(Yonhap)
