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By Lee Han-soo

"Smoking cafés" that allow people to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes have become a burning issue.

Since January 2015, Korea has banned smoking in restaurants and cafes. Under the new law, the establishments were mandated to have a separate, enclosed smoking room with no chairs or tables.

The new cafés do not serve customers but give them paper cups so they can get coffee from vending machines. This allows the venues to be licensed under food vending laws ― not as a restaurant ― avoiding the ban on chairs and tables in smoking lounges.

The first controversial smoking café opened late last year in Yong-in, Gyeonggi Province, and has expanded to more than eight branches nationwide.

"The smoking café in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, has 500 customers on a daily basis," said Hwang Ki-ju, the founder of Win Win Korea, who owns the franchise, according to Maeil Business Newspaper, a business daily. "On weekends, we see more than 1,000 customers."

He says the franchise has also entered Seoul, with the first outlet opening at Hyewha-dong.

The company plans to have 50 branches by the end of this year.

"It's totally legal in every form," Hwang said. "The merits outweigh the negatives in that it decreases indiscriminate smoking."

But officials are not happy.

"According to the law, smoking in restaurants is illegal, but this does not mean that it is legal to smoke in food vending entities," a Ministry of Health and Welfare official said. "We are currently looking at options to put a stop to the franchise, such as fixing our amendment."