| Seoul Arts Center |
By Park Ji-won
The Seoul Arts Center has announced it confirmed two new COVID-19 cases amid the virus spike throughout the nation and it has canceled a show to prevent further infections.
According to the art complex, its two employees working in the building of Opera House were infected; one was confirmed on Nov. 30 and the other was confirmed on Wednesday.
The art company added it canceled the upcoming choir performance "Handel's Messiah" by the National Chorus of Korea which was supposed to be held on Thursday, while closing the facilities that had been visited by the two and carrying out disinfection work in the theater.
The company's 73 employees took coronavirus tests and 70 were confirmed negative while two employees are still waiting for the results.
The infection came after about 34 were confirmed positive in relation to the art troupe San Theater in August. The number of coronavirus cases continued to surge for weeks reporting more than 500 cases per day on average. The government adopted Level 2 social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area on Nov. 24, meaning that theaters are obliged to leave empty seats between audience members.
After the confirmation, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, which had scheduled the concert titled "Sung Won Yang plays Haydn Cello Concerto" at the Seoul Arts Center on Dec. 5 and 6 with Wilson Ng conducting, changed its orchestration to reduce contact.
In the art complex, there are multiple art troupes and performing facilities such as the Korea National Opera, the Korean National Ballet, Korea National Contemporary Dance Company and the Korean Symphony Orchestra.
Meanwhile, the art complex had to deal with a spycam case in the facility as well after a contracted worker was caught after trying to film women without consent.
A report by Kukminilbo on Wednesday said the male employee was caught and is being investigated by police after entering a women's bathroom and trying to record women's body parts with his cellphone.
The art company said he was a freelancer and resigned after the incident. The company also installed additional surveillance cameras in the buildings to prevent similar occurrences while filling the gaps between public bathroom stalls so that people cannot reach or peer into the next stall.