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South Korea’s Supreme Court rules sealed room cafes fall under youth entry ban
🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

South Korea’s Supreme Court rules sealed room cafes fall under youth entry ban

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data In the courts
  • South Korea’s Supreme Court overturned an acquittal involving a room-cafe operator who admitted eight teenagers aged 14 to 17 between March 2022 and February 2023.
  • The court said businesses with rooms that cannot be inspected from outside and contain mats and pillows may pose a risk of physical contact or sexual activity.
  • The case returns to the Suwon District Court for further proceedings.

South Korea’s Supreme Court has ruled that room cafes with sealed-off spaces should be treated as businesses where teenagers are prohibited from entering. The court said the rooms could facilitate kissing, physical contact or sexual activity because staff and others cannot easily see inside.

The form of business at establishments barred to youths cannot be limited to cases where strangers use them.

— South Korea Supreme CourtThe court rejected the appeals court’s narrower interpretation of the youth-entry ban.

The case involved an operator identified as Mo, who ran a room cafe in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, from March 2022 to February 2023. Prosecutors charged the operator with allowing eight teenagers between 14 and 17 to enter.

The cafe had 16 rooms, 14 of which could not be seen into from outside. Each room contained a mat and pillow large enough for a person to lie down. A lower court imposed a 2 million won fine, describing the premises as a rest space where sexual activity was realistically possible.

A business format where physical contact, such as kissing, or sexual activity may occur because it is difficult to check inside from outside the room.

— South Korea Supreme CourtThe court explained why sealed room cafes fall under the statutory restriction.

An appeals court later acquitted the operator, reasoning that the business did not introduce or connect unspecified customers. The Supreme Court rejected that interpretation, saying the youth-entry ban does not apply only to businesses used by strangers who meet through the establishment. It sent the case back to the Suwon District Court.

A rest space where sexual activity is realistically possible.

— Lower courtThe first-instance court used this description when fining the operator.
About this summary

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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