Seoul soft drink vending machines have been banned, causing outrage amongst consumers.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to ban the sales of soft drinks at vending machines in public spaces and subway stations.

But the decision has been derided by Seoulites, many of whom believe the ban restricts freedom of choice.

‘Jjamppong’ on Twitter commented: “Soft drinks are not the enemy of health. The stress you get from work is the problem!”

A user on the portal site Naver criticised the decision as unreasonable, saying “It’s the 21st century, right?”. Other social media posts’ pointed out that based on the logic the government used for the ban – health concerns – “the city should be banning fast food because it causes obesity, too” and “orange juice should be banned because it has more sugar than soft drinks”.

Seoul city officials explained that they made the decision based on the fact that soft drinks cause obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis, damaging the health of citizens. However, citizens’ reactions indicated that the reason was also difficult to understand.

One Tweeted: “Koreans don’t even drink soft drinks that much compared to Americans. Was it a necessary measure to take against adults? It would be better to reduce the sugar in canned drinks.”

Others supported the decision. A Naver user agreed with the ban saying that “all canned beverages and canned foods are polluted with endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and the people who enjoy these products get ill when they’re old. We don’t starve even if we don’t eat these foods. Seoul is doing a good thing.”

User ‘Umhahahahaha’ at the portal site Daum agreed with the policy but added: “Other countries have that policy. It’s a good thing we are finally banning soft drinks from public places. But I think they should start banning them at schools or wherever there are many children instead of public places.”

• Original reporting by Francine Jung.