"Inconsistency and Inequity"... Cafe Owners File 1.8 Billion Won Compensation Lawsuit Against Government

Owners affiliated with the National Cafe Owners Association are holding a press conference as they file a lawsuit against the government seeking damages. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As social distancing measures were strengthened and in-hall operations were banned, cafe owners filed a lawsuit against the government seeking damages.

The National Cafe Owners Association held a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court on the 14th and announced that they would file a lawsuit claiming about 1.8 billion won against the government. A total of 358 people participated in this lawsuit.

The association emphasized, "The reason we had no choice but to take legal action against the government is consistency and fairness," adding, "Cafe owners could only cry out due to quarantine regulations lacking consistency and fairness, and they can no longer endure seeing the livelihoods of employees and part-time workers they worked with being threatened."

They continued, "Stores that mainly operated in-hall saw sales plummet by 70 to 90%, and they survived with sales so low that they could not even pay rent each month," and stated, "What we need now is disaster compensation, not disaster relief funds."

The law firm Wuil, representing the lawsuit, explained in a statement, "After filing the lawsuit, we will observe changes in government policies or discussions on compensation and decide whether to file a constitutional complaint for legislative inaction." Legislative inaction refers to cases where the constitution explicitly delegates legislative authority to guarantee fundamental rights, but legislation has not been enacted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.