The Supreme Court has ruled that room cafes fall under businesses off-limits to minors. A room cafe consists of multiple small rooms separated along a hallway, and customers can drink beverages or snacks in the rooms, play board games, or watch movies by using online video services (OTT).
The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) said on the 31st that on the 16th it overturned a lower court ruling that acquitted Momo, 38, who was indicted on charges of violating the Youth Protection Act, and sent the case back to the Suwon District Court with a guilty verdict indicated.
From March 2022 to February 2023, Mo operated a room cafe in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. In February 2023, Mo was caught failing to attach a sign at the most visible of the business's entrances stating "Business off-limits to and not employing minors." At that time, in four rooms inside the room cafe, one male and one female were paired in each, and they were 14 to 17 years old.
Mo was brought to trial on charges of allowing minors to enter a room cafe that is a business off-limits to and not employing minors without checking their ages, and for failing to attach a sign stating "Minors are not allowed to enter." Mo shut down the room cafe after being caught.
The first trial sentenced Mo to a fine of 2 million won. The first trial court found that Mo's room cafe fell under businesses off-limits to and not employing minors as defined by a 2013 notice from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
The room cafe consisted of 16 rooms partitioned by dividers. After receiving guidance from an official of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to "install windows on the doors," Mo installed transparent glass windows on the doors of Rooms 1 to 6. But immediately after the work, Mo attached film to the windows of Rooms 3 to 6 so that the interiors would not be visible from outside. For Rooms 7 to 16, once the doors were closed, the interiors were not visible at all. Mo instructed that when customers arrived, Rooms 7 to 16, where the interiors were not visible, should be assigned first.
Inside the rooms, mats were laid on the floor so people could lie down or sit, and there was also one large pillow each. The first trial court said, "In this room cafe, there is a concern that physical contact such as kissing may occur between users," adding, "It is practically provided as a lounge where sexual activity is possible."
The second trial acquitted Mo. The appellate court said, "The sliding doors of each room in this room cafe were not equipped with locks, so employees or other customers could open the doors and enter, and the mats installed on the floor could serve only to absorb impact, making it difficult to see them as functioning as beds," adding, "It appears difficult for actual sexual activity or quasi-sexual activity to occur in each room."
In contrast, the Supreme Court said, "This room cafe is a place that unspecified customers can use, and its structure makes it difficult to check the interior from outside the rooms," and judged, "There is a strong possibility that it falls under a business type where physical contact such as kissing and caressing occurs inside, or where sexual activity or quasi-sexual activity may occur."
In May 2023, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family established new facility standards for room cafes and amended the notice designating businesses off-limits to and not employing minors. The purpose was to strengthen the protection of minors while guaranteeing the business rights of room cafe operators. If the structure allows the interior to be visible from outside, minors were allowed to use it. The Supreme Court referred to this notice in its assessment.
According to the revised notice, room cafes that meet the following requirements may be used by minors: ▲ the wall facing the corridor must be entirely transparent from a height of 1.3 to 2 meters ▲ the entrance door must be entirely transparent from a height of 1.3 meters to the top ▲ there must be no locking device ▲ the transparent windows of the wall and entrance door must not be covered.