Home > National > Social Affairs

Ministry announces ban on free disposable cups, limits straws to customer request only

Published: 17 Dec. 2025, 20:42

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a briefing by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment at the Government Sejong Convention Center on Dec. 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has decided to ban the free provision of disposable cups at cafes and other eateries. Plastic and paper straws will also be provided only upon customer request.

"We plan to revamp the disposable cup deposit system, which has drawn complaints from both consumers and businesses, into a separate cup pricing system," Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-whan said during a presidential briefing on Wednesday. “We will internalize the cost of disposable cups into the drinks and link the policy with incentives for reusable cups to fundamentally reduce plastic use,"

Under the disposable cup deposit system, customers who choose to receive drinks in disposable cups at cafes are required to pay a 300-won ($0.2) deposit, which is refunded when the cup is returned to the store.

The policy was promoted under the Moon Jae-in administration and piloted in Sejong and on Jeju Island in December 2022. However, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration later decided not to expand it nationwide, effectively rendering the system obsolete.

“Disposable cups and plastic straws become a battleground every time an administration changes,” said President Lee Jae Myung, also criticizing the policy. "The deposit system feels like a deskbound, impractical policy."

Instead of maintaining the deposit system, the ministry has decided to prohibit the free provision of disposable cups. While individual stores will be allowed to set their own prices for disposable cups, the government plans to establish a minimum price that reflects production costs.

Empty plastic cups pile up inside a cafe in Jung District, central Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“If customers take plastic [disposable] cups, stores will autonomously charge 100 to 200 won,” Kim said. “I believe prices should reflect at least the production cost, so we will set a minimum price.”

Single-use straws will be provided free of charge only upon request. Plastic straws are currently subject to an in-store use ban, but an indefinitely extended grace period has left the regulation effectively unenforced.

The government’s repeated extensions have sparked controversy, as companies producing paper straws have suffered financial difficulties as a result.

“Whether paper or plastic, we want to fundamentally prevent straws from being used in stores,” Kim said. “However, there may be elderly customers or others who truly need them, so we plan to make straws available only to those individuals.”

The ministry plans to release a draft of its comprehensive anti-plastic measures early next week and gather public feedback through a public hearing.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHON KWON-PIL [[email protected]]