Starbucks asks customers in South Korea to stop bringing printers and desktop computers into stores as workers transform cafes into remote offices

A group of young people fill tables and seats of a Starbucks cafe (Credit: Getty Images)

• Starbucks patrons in South Korea are setting up de facto offices at the coffee chain, bringing along their desktop computers and printers. The company implemented a new policy banning bulky items from store locations. In South Korea, where office space is scant, remote workers are using cafés as a cheap place to work.

There’s getting cozy at a Starbucks to sip a latte and catch up on emails, and then there’s lugging your printer and desktop to the coffee chain to clock into work.