If the government raises social distancing to three stages, it is known that restaurants are also considering only packaging and delivery, and the food service industry is protesting.
Currently, in the second stage of distance, the restaurant is open until 9 PM, and after that, only packaging and delivery are possible.
Although the current guidelines remain unchanged in Phase 3, some experts insist that the business regulation of restaurants with high risk of corona19 infection should be strengthened.
The Korea Food Service Federation said in a press release on the 18th, "If the existing three-step guidelines are followed, the restaurant can be operated in general under the condition that one customer per 8㎡ of facility area is possible until 9pm." He argued that the logic that eating in restaurants should be completely banned when upgrading to the third level is absurd," he argued.
The food service industry is concerned that if only packaging and delivery are possible, the worst sales decline could occur, and in particular, the damage to small Korean restaurants could be significant.
The National Food Service Federation cited the results of the survey on the facts of food service management by the National Statistical Office and heard that the Korean food industry is highly dependent on visiting customers, and that delivery (5.7%) or packaged dining out (11.4%) is not large.
The group pointed out that "another concern is the lunch riots of office workers in social life," and pointed out that "delivery and convenience stores will be able to handle some parts, but most office workers will have difficulty solving the lunch."
He also said, "The 3rd step upgrade is to force another irreversible damage to the restaurant business, who has been silently following the government's quarantine measures, hoping that the Corona 19 incident will calm down while being restricted in business."
The Federation of Food Service Industries requested that the 3rd Emergency Disaster Support Fund be paid first for small business owners, expanded emergency loans for small business owners, direct rental support, and stopped collecting interest on small business loans from financial institutions.