Convenience Store Anxious About Opaque Sheet Installation: "Trying to Cover Tobacco Ads Might Expose Crimes"

Crime Vulnerability Due to Convenience Store Sticker Covering
External Tobacco Advertisement Crackdown Started in July Last Year
Questioning the Effect on Youth Smoking Rate Reduction
Convenience Store Owners "Worker Safety Threatened... Demand for System Improvement"

On the afternoon of the 5th, a convenience store in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, had an opaque sheet attached.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Recently, as various crimes targeting convenience store owners and part-time workers have been on the rise, the opaque sheets attached to the outside of stores have become a subject of controversy. This measure has been in place since July last year due to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's crackdown on the external exposure of tobacco advertisements. However, given the 24-hour operation nature of convenience stores, concerns have been raised that this could make them more vulnerable to crimes.

On the afternoon of the 5th, all convenience stores such as CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, and Emart24 in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, had opaque sheets attached. As night fell and it got darker, it became difficult to see inside the stores from the outside unless entering through the entrance. A convenience store part-timer, Mr. Lee, said, "Honestly, it’s very scary to work alone at night," adding, "If a crime occurs, it would be really dangerous because people outside cannot easily see what’s happening inside." Another convenience store not only used opaque sheets but also other products and promotional banners to block tobacco advertisements. In this case, it was so difficult to tell who was inside the store regardless of day or night.

The National Health Promotion Act and the Tobacco Business Act stipulate that tobacco advertisements inside tobacco retail stores must not be visible from the outside. Violations can result in imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won. Failure to comply with correction orders may lead to suspension of business for up to one year. Although this law was enacted in 2011, enforcement was lax, rendering it ineffective. However, last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced a comprehensive smoking cessation plan to reduce smoking rates, strengthening regulations on tobacco advertising and promotions, leading to the attachment of opaque sheets on convenience stores.

The convenience store industry criticizes the regulation itself as ineffective. While tobacco advertisements cannot be seen from outside, they are the first thing noticed once inside the store. Since minors are already prohibited from purchasing tobacco, it is uncertain whether blocking advertisements helps reduce smoking rates. According to the 17th Youth Health Behavior Survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from August to November last year, surveying about 60,000 students from first-year middle school to third-year high school, 4.5% of youths reported smoking conventional cigarettes at least once a day in the past month, showing little change from 4.4% the previous year. The rate of youths who said they could purchase tobacco at convenience stores or shops, known as 'purchase accessibility,' sharply increased from 67% in 2021 to 74.8% last year. This is why current tobacco advertising regulations are criticized as mere desk-bound administration.

Convenience store owners are demanding improvements to the system, arguing that opaque sheets threaten the safety of workers. The Korea Convenience Store Network stated, "Recently, incidents of assault inside convenience stores have increased and become more severe," adding, "Opaque sheets prevent outsiders from seeing inside, threatening the lives of convenience store workers." They further explained, "Due to the 24-hour operation nature of convenience stores, the risk of exposure to crime is high, so most stores are designed with transparent glass walls. However, the mandatory attachment of opaque sheets has created blind spots for crimes."

Currently, convenience store workers have no choice but to rely on in-store closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) and emergency buttons on cash registers for their safety. According to crime prevention design guidelines for buildings, convenience store design standards require that the building facade should not be obstructed and visibility should be ensured. This is to prevent crimes that may occur during late-night operations. However, due to measures to block tobacco advertisement exposure, it has become impossible to identify the inside situation from outside the convenience stores.

Professor Lim Joon-tae of Dongguk University’s Department of Police Administration advised, "From a crime prevention perspective, making the inside of convenience stores hard to see is a negative factor. From a criminal’s point of view, it creates conditions to commit crimes without being noticed by others, and blind spots arise because the inside of the store is not well observed. Making the store more open and visible from the outside would help prevent crimes."

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