The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to ban the sales of soft drinks at vending machines in public spaces and subway stations. The decision created a buzz among Seoulites, and many showed negative reactions, saying that the move restricts freedom of choice. (Image : byrev / Pixabay)
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to ban the sales of soft drinks at vending machines in public spaces and subway stations. The decision created a buzz among Seoulites, and many showed negative reactions, saying that the move restricts freedom of choice.
‘Jjamppong’ on twitter commented that “Soft drinks are not the enemy of health. The stress you get from work is the problem!”
User ‘yunb****’ at the portal site Naver criticized the decision as unreasonable, saying “It’s the 21st century, right?”, and users ‘oper***’ and ‘newl****’ pointed out that “the city should be banning fast food because it causes obesity, too” and “orange juice should be banned because it has more sugar than soft drinks”.
Seoul city officials explained that they made the decision based on the fact that soft drinks cause obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis, damaging the health of citizens. However, citizens’ reactions indicated that the reason was also difficult to understand.
‘Sist****’ tweeted that “Koreans don’t even drink soft drinks that much compared to Americans. Was it a necessary measure to take against adults? It would be better to reduce the sugar in canned drinks.”
On the other hand, some supported the decision. Naver user ‘abck****’ agreed, saying that “all canned beverages and canned foods are polluted with endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and the people who enjoy these products get ill when they’re old. We don’t starve even if we don’t eat these foods. Seoul is doing a good thing.”
User ‘Umhahahahaha’ at the portal site Daum agreed with the policy but added an opinion. “Other countries have that policy. It’s a good thing we are finally banning soft drinks from public places. But I think they should start banning them at schools or wherever there are many children instead of public places.”
By Francine Jung (francine.jung@kobizmedia.co.kr)
Have I found the nadir or journalism in Korea? Citing netizens? For shame.