Six in 10 restaurants in South Korea suffered a decline in their revenues after an indoor smoking ban was imposed nationwide in July, a survey showed Thursday.

According to the survey of restaurant owners, nearly 59.3 percent of respondents said their revenues had fallen as a result of the new smoking regulations and the average reported fall in revenues was 17.6 percent.

The smoking ban went into effect on July 1, affecting certain restaurants based on their size. But all restaurants will be smoke-free by 2015, when stronger regulations are to come into force. The Korea Smokers’ Association commissioned the survey, which consulted 300 restaurant owners.

By Sung Jin-woo, Intern reporter
(jinwoo0120@heraldcorp.com)