People spend time along Cheonggye Stream in Seoul, July 27. Yonhap
Having a cold beer by the water at Cheonggye Stream may soon come with an unexpected price tag.
Foreign tourists as well as local visitors could face fines for drinking or smoking along Seoul’s Cheonggye Stream, as the city moves to crack down on unruly behavior following a series of incidents that drew public criticism.
Drinking, smoking, entering the water, cooking, sleeping outdoors, urinating and bringing pets to the stream area are already prohibited. But there has been no legal basis for imposing fines, leaving safety officers from the Seoul Facilities Corp. with little option beyond warning violators.
A team of 40 safety officers currently patrols the full length of the stream in shifts.
