Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Fed up with seat hogs, coffee shop chains take tougher stance
A customer using a large computer monitor and laptop charges electronic devices with power strips at a Starbucks store in Seoul / Captured from Threads
By Jung Da-hyun
Opening salvo by Starbucks Korea draws attention, other franchises expected to follow
Fed up with “seat hogs” — customers who linger for hours on end — franchise coffee shops in Korea are rolling out new rules to reclaim seating space and boost turnover.
Many have begun enforcing new rules aimed at managing customers who occupy seats for extended periods.
Starbucks Korea announced a nationwide ban, effective Thursday, on the use of personal desktops, printers, power strips and partitions in its stores. Customers who violate the rule will be politely reminded of the restriction by store staff.
The move follows a surge in customer complaints over conduct such as putting feet on tables, setting up partitions and using large personal computer equipment in the stores.
This development comes as Korea’s franchise coffee shop market reaches intense saturation, with data revealing fierce competition for survival among brands. By late 2022, the number of shops nationwide surpassed 100,000. While growth in sheer numbers is impressive, the market faces mounting challenges marked by price wars and an ongoing battle for customer loyalty.
The term “cafe squatters” has sparked ongoing debate in Korea. The issue goes beyond brief work or study sessions, involving customers occupying tables for hours — sometimes more than five — using power strips to charge personal devices, leaving belongings behind while stepping out for meals and disrupting other patrons.
While many people visit franchise coffee shops to study or work, disruptive conduct by some customers has frequently sparked controversy.
A customer leaves personal belongings after setting up a partition on a table, reserving a seat for an extended period at a franchise coffee shop in Seoul. Captured from Threads
A photo shared on social media last month showing a Starbucks table outfitted with a partition, headset, keyboard, mouse and tablet recently reignited the controversy.
The writer who posted the photo online said, “The person never returned to the seat for three hours. It’s a small cafe, and there are people waiting for seats, so it’s really frustrating when someone reserves a spot without actually using it.”
This is the first time Starbucks has officially implemented restrictions on cafe squatters. The decision was made by the domestic headquarters, not as part of a global policy, and applies specifically to its stores in Korea.
Before Starbucks, Ediya Coffee posted signs asking customers who stayed longer than three hours to place additional orders and limited tables to one laptop each. However, this was not a company-wide policy, but rather a rule implemented by a specific store that saw heavy use from cafe squatters.
Some coffee shops have even temporarily covered their power sockets with caps to prevent customers from using them.
In addition to restricting certain items, Starbucks has also announced that customers who leave their seats for extended periods should take their belongings with them. The company is also addressing instances where a single customer occupies a table meant for multiple people, to ensure fairness for other customers.
As Starbucks Korea becomes the first major franchise coffee chain to tackle the issue of cafe squatters, all eyes are now on whether other chains will follow with similar rules.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether legal penalties can be applied to such disruptive customers.
Theoretically, occupying a seat for an excessively long period could be considered an act that significantly disrupts cafe operations, potentially qualifying as obstruction of business. However, there have been no clear legal cases where such penalties have been enforced.