Small business owners and those self-employed took to the streets on Wednesday to protest the government's restrictions on business hours and the recently reinforced COVID-19 pass rule to slow the pandemic surge.

Groups representing small merchants held a rally in Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul, where 299 gathered, in line with current quarantine protocols.

They chanted demands to guarantee their right to survival, scrap the pass rule, abolish curfews for the fully vaccinated and also expand direct aid and compensation.

Organizers said the 299-member rally also had 30 officials on site to check temperatures and vaccination status as well as QR entry codes of participating protesters.

The police dispatched around 800 officers for crowd control. They set up fences to block access and broadcast announcements urging people to follow distancing guidelines.

Under reimposed virus curbs due to a surge in case numbers, private gatherings are limited to four people nationwide with curfews applied to businesses through January 2.