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Korea's new pet-friendly restaurant regulations confuse business owners, customers

Published: 20 Mar. 2026, 10:53

A dog is seen at a pet-friendly Starbucks cafe with its owner in this file photo provided by the franchise [STARBUCKS KOREA]

Just three weeks after Korea introduced a pet-friendly restaurant system allowing dogs and cats into eateries and cafes, both business owners and customers are expressing confusion over the new regulations.

As business owners increasingly declare “no-pet zones” due to complicated regulations and detailed requirements, the government said it will work to minimize disorder in the early stages of implementation and support the system’s stable settlement.

Recently, an increasing number of establishments that previously welcomed pets have moved toward banning them, citing regulatory burdens and requirements such as verifying vaccinations, installing kitchen partitions, maintaining table spacing, using food covers and setting up dedicated waste bins.

“The revised rules are very complicated, so I’ve decided not to allow pets,” a cafe owner in Jongno District, central Seoul, wrote on social media on March 4. “I feel sorry for turning away customers who used to visit with their pets.”

Complaints have also spread across online communities for small business owners.

“I decided to ban pets starting in March, because the cost outweighs the benefit,” one user wrote on an online community frequented by small business owners.

A dog receives health consultations with its onwer at a veterinarian booth at a pet fair held at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 13, 2025. [NEWS1]

A dog waits outside of a venue in Busan for its owner on June 3, 2025. [NEWS1]

A pet owner and dogs are seen taking a walk in a park in Daegu on Dec. 11, 2025. [NEWS1]

“This is the epitome of bureaucratic inefficiency,” another user wrote.

Authorities are now scrambling to clarify rules and lower the burden. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the supervising agency of the new guidelines, announced that regulations have been partially eased and clarified specific standards once again.

The Food Ministry has already issued five press releases and three supplementary releases just this month to explain the new regulations.

Under the standards specified on Thursday, pet owners can now record information manually on site or submit vaccination checks via QR code instead of providing official documents.

A dog is seen at a pet fair held at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 13, 2025. [NEWS1]

Pet owners and their dogs are seen taking a walk at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on June 18, 2025. [NEWS1]

A visitor selects dog leashes at a pet fair held at Coex Magok in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on June 13, 2025. [NEWS1]

Some spatial and facility rules have also been relaxed. Table spacing adjustments are no longer required if pets are kept in carriers, special chairs or held by their owners.

In addition, if pets are kept on a leash or secured with a tether, table spacing can be adjusted to prevent contact with other customers or animals. The ministry also allowed movable or foldable partitions — not just fixed ones — to block pets from entering food preparation areas.

As of Thursday morning, 802 establishments had registered as pet-friendly restaurants — nearly three times the 287 recorded in the first week.

Dogs are seen on a float in a pool at Garden 5 mall in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 17, 2025. [YONHAP]

A group photo of dogs at a pet-friendly cafe, left, and a view of the cafe run by a business owner [JOONGANG ILBO]

“We will support the stable settlement of the system and address difficulties in the field,” a ministry official said.

But business operators say structural issues remain unresolved. Some say the current rules are not very practical.

“Trying to prevent contact simply by maintaining distance has limits when leash lengths and pets’ sizes and temperaments all differ,” said Jeon Seung-woo, who runs a pet-friendly cafe in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi.

“The key to preventing contact is not distance, but the owner's stable management and control,” Jeon said. “For an effective system, it is necessary to present clearer standards for pet management and owner responsibility rather than uniform regulations.”

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 CHAE HYE-SEON [[email protected]]