Seoul Jung-gu Enacts Ordinance Restricting Outdoor Food Service Operations

Seoul's First Ordinance on Outdoor Food Service Business Established... Expected to Establish Business Order and Alleviate Resident Inconvenience

Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Kim Gil-seong) announced on the 25th the enactment and promulgation of the "Ordinance on Outdoor Food Service Business in Jung-gu, Seoul," which contains specific standards for outdoor food service businesses.

This is the first case among Seoul's autonomous districts.

Currently, there are about 40 outdoor business sites in Jung-gu, and since the COVID-19 endemic (an infectious disease that has become endemic), the number of outdoor business registrations has been steadily increasing. Complaints about noise from nighttime operations and discomfort caused by structures installed for business purposes have also been on the rise.

Since the revision and enforcement of the "Food Sanitation Act Enforcement Rules" in January 2021, outdoor food service businesses have been generally permitted; however, due to insufficient specific restrictions on business hours and business activities, the district office faced difficulties in managing and monitoring these businesses.

Jung-gu established the ordinance to set concrete business standards. While preserving the institutional intent of permitting outdoor business, it also includes facility standards, safety management rules, and hygiene management rules to prevent indiscriminate business practices and avoid causing inconvenience to residents' daily lives.

The ordinance's appendix includes regulations such as the installation of railings to prevent safety accidents when outdoor business sites are located on the second floor or higher, rules prohibiting sound devices that generate noise, and the use of fire sources that pose a fire risk.

In particular, for business sites near general residential areas, business hours are restricted from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. the following day. Additionally, business operators must take immediate action if noise causes complaints from residents.

Kim Gil-seong, Mayor of Jung-gu, stated, “While the activation of outdoor business will invigorate the local economy, it can also cause harm to neighbors. Through the enactment of this ordinance, by establishing specific standards for outdoor business, we expect business order to be established and the inconvenience to local residents to be reduced.”

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