Candles of self-employed people lighting up the street after 10 p.m.▶ Click here for a larger view
“I know that the world is not fair. However, the government’s quarantine guidelines are a way to make the self-employed fall behind. This store will be open 24 hours as of February 25th.”
At 9:50 pm on the 25th, a sign like this was placed in front of a sushi restaurant in Jonggak Youth Street in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Busy shops were sending out customers one by one and cleaning the inside, but in this sushi restaurant, about 50 customers were clinking glasses with angry faces.
The self-employed who could not withstand the losses caused by the business hours restrictions started directly resisting the quarantine guidelines that restrict business after 10 pm.
The Korea Self-Employed Small Business Federation held a press conference in front of this sushi restaurant at 10 pm on the same day to declare that it would be open for 24 hours.
The group appealed, “We endured hellish times for over two years and followed the government’s quarantine policy. However, the cost of putting the public interest first is horrendous,” the organization said.
“The government is trying to pass on the damage we’ve suffered over the past two years to 3 million won in quarantine support,” he said.
They urged, “To protect our lives, we resist public authorities with the right of resistance.” They urged the self-employed who suffered damage due to the government’s quarantine measures and were driven into bankruptcy with just compensation as prescribed by the Constitution.
The district office in charge warned that the restaurant is violating quarantine rules and to close after 10 pm.
An official from Jongno-gu Office, who visited the store around 11:20 pm, met the owner and said, “Despite various unfortunate circumstances, the vast majority of self-employed are trying to comply with quarantine rules.” returned
Park Seong-min, CEO of the Korea Self-Employment Federation, said that this sushi restaurant will be open for 24 hours indefinitely from today on behalf of the group.
Sashimi restaurant open after 10pm▶ Click here for a larger view
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