Members of the public are paying respects at a joint memorial altar for small business owners who took their own lives after facing financial losses due to prolonged social distancing.

According to an emergency response committee representing small business owners on Friday, more than 200 people have visited the altar since it was set up the previous night. It will remain open until 11 p.m. Saturday.

Main opposition People Power Party(PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok, presidential contender Hwang Kyo-ahn, and ruling Democratic Party(DP) floor leader Yun Ho-jung were among political figures who visited.

The altar was established near the National Assembly subway station, after police blocked the committee's attempt to set it up in front of the Assembly. Some 100 officers have surrounded it to ensure that quarantine rules are being followed.

The committee claims that those who killed themselves struggled to keep their businesses afloat amid heightened social distancing, and is urging the government to come up with ways to alleviate such an impact.