Sejong Government Complex, Building 2, home of the Fair Trade Commission. [Photo by Yoo Dae-gil, dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission said on 22 it issued a consumer alert for wedding services as demand peaks during the spring wedding season.
The FTC, citing data from the Korea Consumer Agency and others, said consumer dispute-relief requests tied to wedding services totaled 1,076 last year, up 171 cases, or 18.9%, from 905 a year earlier. In April and May last year, the number of cases rose 56.0% from the same period the previous year. Of the complaints received, 88.1% involved disputes over contract cancellations, penalty fees and withdrawal rights.
The FTC urged couples to prioritize companies that use the standard contract terms for wedding planning agencies. It said firms using the standard terms clearly disclose base prices by service and the criteria for penalty fees.
The commission also recommended comparing prices in advance through the Consumer Agency’s “Cham Price” service, which publishes regional price information for major wedding items such as meal costs, venue rental fees and studio-dress-makeup packages, along with price data for as many as 67 optional items.
Looking ahead, the FTC said it will intensively inspect whether wedding service providers are properly implementing detailed service descriptions and price displays at points of sale. Providers that fail to comply with required key information disclosures may face administrative fines of up to 100 million won.
The government said it will continue to monitor unfair practices in the wedding services market to prevent consumer harm in advance and support informed choices by providing information on wedding services.
The FTC, citing data from the Korea Consumer Agency and others, said consumer dispute-relief requests tied to wedding services totaled 1,076 last year, up 171 cases, or 18.9%, from 905 a year earlier. In April and May last year, the number of cases rose 56.0% from the same period the previous year. Of the complaints received, 88.1% involved disputes over contract cancellations, penalty fees and withdrawal rights.
The FTC urged couples to prioritize companies that use the standard contract terms for wedding planning agencies. It said firms using the standard terms clearly disclose base prices by service and the criteria for penalty fees.
The commission also recommended comparing prices in advance through the Consumer Agency’s “Cham Price” service, which publishes regional price information for major wedding items such as meal costs, venue rental fees and studio-dress-makeup packages, along with price data for as many as 67 optional items.
Looking ahead, the FTC said it will intensively inspect whether wedding service providers are properly implementing detailed service descriptions and price displays at points of sale. Providers that fail to comply with required key information disclosures may face administrative fines of up to 100 million won.
The government said it will continue to monitor unfair practices in the wedding services market to prevent consumer harm in advance and support informed choices by providing information on wedding services.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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