Bathroom Closure Due to Homosexual Entry Report: "Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities" vs "Justified"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] A controversy over discrimination against sexual minorities has arisen after it was revealed that a notice stating "The restroom will be closed due to reports of homosexuals entering" was posted in a building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The building management office explained that the measure was taken due to an increase in complaints about witnessing same-sex sexual activities in the restroom.

The notice, first revealed by Women’s Newspaper on the 2nd, states, "Due to internal circumstances (reports of homosexuals entering, etc.), the restrooms on basement floors 4 to 6 will be temporarily closed as follows. We ask for your understanding and request that you use the restrooms on the ground floors." According to the notice, the restrooms on the 4th to 6th floors of the building have been closed since May 11 of last year.

On the 8th, Kim, a manager of the building management team, told Money Today in an interview, "If you add up all the complaints related to sexual minorities received by the management team so far, they exceed hundreds." He added, "While there are complaints from customers, most of the restroom attendants are elderly, and the situation has become disruptive to their work."

He emphasized, "This is absolutely not related to sexual orientation but intended to prevent clear illegal acts."

Some netizens expressed concern that the notice’s use of the term "homosexuals" could foster a misguided perception of sexual minorities. They argued that if the issue was the act itself, the notice should have used expressions like "prohibition of sexual acts" instead of "reports of homosexuals entering."

On the other hand, other netizens dismissed the claims of discrimination, saying, "It’s justified. We also need to consider the human rights of those who were harmed," and "This is not discrimination against sexual minorities. The problem lies with those who caused harm in the public restroom."

The management office also reported that due to repeated complaints of "sexual activities occurring on the stairs," the lighting on the stairs was replaced with sensors to keep it constantly on. In addition to closing the restrooms, they plan to immediately report to the nearby police station whenever complaints are received.

The management office stated, "It is true that the notice could be misunderstood as banning sexual minorities from entering, but we want to avoid the stigma of being a building where customers suffer because illegal acts in public places are not prevented," drawing a line against plans to remove the notice.

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