S. Korea to identify 'coronavirus-safe' restaurants via Kakao platform

The South Korean government has tapped the services of Kakao Corp. to identify local restaurants strictly following sanitary guidelines designed to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

According to the guidelines, employees should wear protective masks at all times and provide separate utensils for communal dishes and pots.

Kakao operates the mobile messenger app, KakaoTalk, and the search engine Daum.

Last year, South Korea started a similar service with the country's top online portal operator, Naver Corp.

South Korea designated 23,467 restaurants as safe establishments last year.

The guidelines were made especially necessary by the common practice in Korean dining culture for a group to share a dish.

The ministry will push for an increase in the number of businesses following the sanitary guideline.