The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched tighter enforcement of South Korea’s revised Tobacco Business Act after inspections found widespread compliance failures among liquid e-cigarette retailers and significant weaknesses in vending machine age-verification systems. Between April 24 and June 23, authorities inspected 666 retailers and found that 28.5% operated vending machines. Of 415 machines examined, 339 used ID-based age verification, but 168 accepted forged or altered identification during testing, while 112 recognized every fake ID used.
Inspectors also found inadequate youth warning signage and advertising violations, with many in-store advertisements visible from outside. The city said it will push for stronger ID verification requirements, require retailers to improve age-checking systems, distribute compliant warning labels, and continue inspections as liquid e-cigarette use continues to rise, particularly among adolescents, whose 2025 vaping rate exceeded conventional cigarette smoking for the first time.
