Legality of smoking ban disputed
A no smoking sign is seen at a restaurant in Seoul. Under a new law, smoking has been banned in all restaurants, bars and cafes, regardless of their size, since Jan. 1. / Yonhap
‘Smoking ban at restaurants unconstitutional’
By Chung Hyun-chae
Twenty owners of restaurants and bars will ask the Constitutional Court to review the smoking ban imposed on all such establishments.
An online community of smokers, I Love Smoking, said Friday that some of its members who run eateries will file a petition with the court next month as they believe the new law, which bans smoking at all cafes, restaurants and bars, regardless of their size, infringes on their basic rights.
The move came after the restaurant owners saw a sharp decline in sales after the expanded ban on smoking took effect on Jan. 1.
“Sales have dropped more than 30 percent since the law went into effect. It is threatening my livelihood,” Kwon Huck-nam, who runs a restaurant selling grilled beef tripe in Seoul, told The Korea Times.
Like Kwon, many owners of restaurants, especially meat restaurants and bars where many patrons smoke while drinking, have faced similar difficulties due to the regulation.
“Given that cigarettes and alcohol go together in most cases, many customers are leaving their old hangouts because they cannot smoke there any longer,” Kwon said. “In this regard, the regulation is unfair and too harsh for people like us. It infringes on the freedom of business and the right to property.”
Lee Yeon-ik, the head of I Love Smoking, said, “The noticeable sales drops have outraged smokers who were already angry due to the 2,000 won increase in cigarette prices starting this year.”
According to Lee, members of the community decided to submit a petition together.
“We hired a lawyer and are preparing the petition now,” Lee said.
But he added that taking the controversy to the Constitutional Court doesn’t mean that they reject everything in the regulation.
“We think the law should be revised to give autonomy to the restaurants, so that the owners can decide whether to ban smoking or not,” Lee said.
Kwon agreed. “For restaurants selling mainly food without alcohol, the ban does not affect their sales much, so they would be willing to be designated as non-smoking areas,” he said.
They also said that smokers would not encourage people to smoke but the government should give consideration to them.
“It is nonsense that the nation legally sells cigarettes to people and then tries to make them lawbreakers,” Kwon said.
The community members also plan to hold a protest in February to urge the central and regional governments to establish smoking rooms in public places. The event will be the third of its kind since 2013.