This photo taken in April 12, 2021 shows a convenience store in Incheon affixed with translucent sheets to its window. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Convenience store owners are claiming that the translucent sheets affixed to prevent cigarette ads from being viewed from outside threaten workers’ safety, and are calling for the revision of relevant laws.
The National Convenience Store Franchise Association issued a statement on Wednesday saying that convenience stores that operate 24 hours a day are seriously exposed to ever-increasing violent crimes.
The association noted, “In particular, the affixing of translucent sheets contributed to increasing such crimes with most convenience stores manned by a single person at night.”
On Feb. 8, a convenience store owner was killed in a robbery in Gyeyang District in Incheon.
Current laws stipulate that cigarette ads displayed inside stores should not be viewable from outside.
This law is based on the assumption that indiscriminate exposure to such ads could have an impact on teenage smoking and entice consumers in general to smoke.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare launched a crackdown on such practices starting in July 2021, prompting convenience store owners to affix the sheets to storefront windows to avoid sanctions.
The association stressed that many convenience store owners and workers have developed a sense of anxiety over working at night due to the recent murder.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
