Outdoor Smoking Bans Constitutional

South Korea’s law designating public facilities, including crowded outdoor plazas, as nonsmoking areas is constitutional, according to the Constitutional Court.

In an April 25 ruling, reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily, the court held that the National Health Promotion Act, which requires all public facilities, including outdoor spaces, to be designated as nonsmoking areas, does not violate the Constitution.

Article 9 of the National Health Promotion Act designates public facilities that are 1,000 square meters or more as nonsmoking areas.

The law was challenged after a smoker fined for lighting up outside of the Bexco convention center in Busan filed a legal case arguing that it was excessive to designate such open areas as nonsmoking areas.

The case eventually made its way to the Constitutional Court, which held that even public outdoor areas can’t be considered completely free from the risk of secondhand smoke, noting that it is difficult to completely block cigarette smoke even if there are separate nonsmoking and smoking areas.

The court noted that the need to protect people who do not want to breathe in secondhand smoke is greater than the need to guarantee smokers’ freedom to smoke.