"Leave Your Things, Go Eat, and Come Back"... Online Debate Over Café Customers Leaving Their Seats Unattended [What Do You Think?]

[Financial News] Opinions are divided online over customers who leave only their belongings on café seats and remain away for extended periods.
Recently, posts criticizing the practice of leaving belongings at cafés or public places and staying away for a long time have been appearing one after another on online communities such as Thread and NOW Talk.
A café owner posted on Thread that he had asked a particular customer to use another establishment. He wrote, "Today was the customer's third visit, and each time they stayed for at least five hours because of the lengthy use of the café," adding, "I don't interfere with studying at a café, reading, knitting, or anything like that. But even the employee working with me said this had gone too far."
The owner also said the customer had left the seat unattended for a long time. He stated, "During the first visit, the customer left the seat unattended for an hour and stayed for about six and a half hours before leaving shortly before closing," adding, "They left all their belongings on the table—including a tablet, major-related books, a tumbler, and clothes—so I couldn't touch them."
Some commenters said they had seen similar cases. One user wrote, "Last time, I saw someone go out to eat and come back carrying a cup from another café," adding, "They left their belongings at the café, went to eat, and then came back. I can't understand it—were they from another world?"
Another café owner said he was experiencing the same problem. He said, "Among the customers who come frequently these days, there is someone who orders two coffees, stays for three hours, reserves the seat, goes out to have dinner, stays away for about an hour, and then comes back and leaves the seat reserved before going somewhere else." He added, "They came around 3 p.m. and stayed until 11 p.m. before leaving."
Some users suggested ways to respond. One wrote, "Put up a notice saying, 'Belongings will be removed if you leave your seat unattended for more than 30 minutes,' and clearly state in an additional explanation that the café is not responsible for lost items," adding, "The removed belongings could be placed separately in a lost-and-found storage area."
On the other hand, some posts argued that the measures were excessive from the customers' perspective. One customer wrote on an online community, "I wasn't in the mood for coffee, so I ordered a 10,000-won croffle instead, but because of the one-drink-per-person policy, I ended up ordering an espresso as well." The customer continued, "I sat there for about an hour, stepped out briefly to take care of something, and when I came back, someone who appeared to be the owner approached me and told me to leave because I had been away for more than 10 minutes." The customer said, "I hadn't even been there for two hours, and when I asked why it was considered obstructing business when there were plenty of empty seats, the person told me to be careful next time," adding that the experience was unpleasant.
There was also a case in which someone left their seat for more than an hour while leaving a laptop and cellphone turned on. One user wrote on NOW Talk, "It seems the person has been away for more than an hour, with KakaoTalk open on the laptop and the cellphone next to it," adding, "The phone keeps ringing, and the KakaoTalk notification sound from the computer can be heard continuously." Other users described the behavior as inconsiderate.
Given the situation, some franchise cafés have introduced policies stating that belongings will be removed if customers leave their seats unattended for more than 30 minutes. An increasing number of neighborhood cafés are also applying a "30-minute rule," while some establishments have adopted an even stricter standard, removing belongings after 15 minutes. In most cases, cafés place notices on the seats and store customers' belongings at the counter if they do not return after the specified period. Some cafés that removed belongings immediately without warning have ended up in conflicts with customers.
Others countered that rules on leaving seats unattended should not be enforced too strictly. They argued, "Are you saying people can't even go to the restroom? Thirty minutes is too short," adding, "If you step outside to take an urgent phone call, 30 minutes can pass quickly. If your belongings are removed every time that happens, it becomes impossible to use a café."
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