Seoul's Seongdong District said on the 11th that it would provide additional support for toilet paper and management operating expenses to private open-restroom operators. Under the plan, private open-restroom operators can receive three boxes of toilet paper each month and up to 170,000 won in support. Suncheon in South Jeolla Province also plans to raise the subsidy by 80,000 won to provide up to 200,000 won. Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province decided to support private open-restroom remodeling expense up to 3 million won.
Local governments are expanding support for private open restrooms to encourage continued operation while also taking steps to increase the number of open restrooms.
In areas with heavy foot traffic, opening building restrooms places a large management burden on building owners. As the number of users increases, cleaning frequency rises and consumption of supplies such as toilet paper increases significantly, reflecting an intention to reduce the operator's burden.
Private open-restroom designation cannot be forced. Because private buildings are private property, voluntary participation by building owners is crucial. Many building owners are opening restrooms for the public-interest purpose of improving citizen convenience.
From the perspective of local governments, there is also the effect of increasing public restrooms without significantly increasing the budget burden. Using restrooms already installed in private buildings does not require additional construction expense. In addition to reducing citizens' inconvenience in using restrooms, opening spaces that are closed or unmanaged can also be expected to help prevent crime.
On the other hand, from the building owner's perspective, open restrooms are quite a "headache." Because they are used by an unspecified number of people, the management burden is considerable. There are many cases of people dumping household trash or intoxicated patrons vomiting in the restroom. Some secretly smoke in no-smoking buildings or damage property. The perception that they can be used for free leads some to use them carelessly.
An official at a local government said, "We often visit building owners who say they will stop operating their restrooms to persuade them," adding, "But if the building owner is adamant, there is virtually no way to stop it."
There is also an assessment that local governments' support measures are not very attractive to building owners. This year's minimum wage is 10,320 won per hour. Monthly subsidies at the tens-of-thousands-of-won level provided by local governments are not enough even to staff restroom management. Consumables such as toilet paper are often not a major expense burden from the building owner's perspective.
Experts note that, above all, awareness of restroom-use culture needs improvement. In the United States or Europe, it is hard to find cases where private restrooms are freely opened as in Korea. In many cases, people must pay an expense to use restrooms at places such as restaurants.
An official at a local government in Seoul said, "There are also building owners who say they will reclose restrooms they had opened because management is difficult," adding, "In practical terms, the supplies or subsidies provided by local governments are largely a matter of moral obligation. The perception that open restrooms are also public facilities must take root first."