"Tired of Inconsiderate Users": Gas Station Owner Who Kept Restroom Open for Over 20 Years Finally Decides to Lock It

Urinating Outdoors, Smoking, and Dumping Trash
Using the Restroom Without Permission... Causing Trouble for Customers Refueling

AI-generated illustration (photo to aid article understanding). ChatGPT

The story of a gas station owner who wants to close the restroom that has been open for more than 20 years has been made public.

On the 24th, a post titled "I am a gas station owner. I plan to lock the restroom door starting tomorrow and would like to hear your opinions" was uploaded to an online community. The owner explained that although the restroom at the gas station had been open for over 20 years, he was now considering locking it due to the large number of users who do not observe proper etiquette.

The main issue cited by the gas station owner was the indiscriminate use of the restroom. He stated that some people enter the gas station even though they do not intend to refuel, park their vehicles carelessly and block traffic, and even bring bags of trash from their cars to throw away in the restroom bins.

Additionally, although smoking is legally prohibited at gas stations because it can cause fires, some people smoke near the restroom. The owner also mentioned that tour buses carrying tourists often stop at the gas station, and without asking for permission, nearly 10 to 20 people use the restroom at once. In some cases, due to a lack of space, some individuals even urinate outdoors.

The gas station owner who wrote the post said, "From my perspective, the gas station restroom is private property, and I have to pay for repairs and cleaning myself. So many people who do not purchase fuel act shamelessly as if they own the place, so I have no choice but to take the extreme step of locking the door. I am simply exhausted from arguing with people," he lamented.

According to the current Act on Public Toilets and Related Facilities, restrooms installed in facilities above a certain size can be designated as public restrooms, allowing public use in consultation with the facility manager. However, gas stations are not legally required to open their restrooms to the public, and there have been no officially confirmed cases so far of gas station owners being penalized for not making their restrooms available to outsiders.