Ahead of BTS’s Busan concert, “price gouging” that has gone too far by some lodging businesses has been running rampant, prompting the national government and local authorities to move for strong enforcement. With a large-scale international event drawing a global fanbase, the government is immediately activating a government-wide eradication plan to prevent tourist harm and establish fair market order.
Universities and training centers opened on the spot, with joint special on-site inspections launched
The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a “TF meeting on eradicating regional price gouging” at the Government Complex Seoul and unveiled tough measures. To respond to lodging price overcharging singled out as the biggest problem, the government decided to urgently secure and supply about 1,300 alternative lodging facilities by using university dormitories around Busan and training centers run by public institutions, among others.
BTS will hold standalone concerts at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on June 12 and 13. The shows mark the full-group stage that comes about 3 years and 8 months after the October 2022 expo-hosting-aspiration commemorative concert, drawing explosive interest from fans around the world. In particular, June 13, the second day of the concerts, is BTS’s debut anniversary, making its symbolism especially significant.
In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism opened meetings with lodging industry stakeholders near the concert venue and strongly recommended reasonable pricing. In addition, relevant agencies including the National Tax Service and the Fair Trade Commission will launch joint special on-site inspections. Inspection teams will focus on investigating poor sanitation and price-fixing conduct, and, for businesses found in violation, the government plans to issue immediate administrative actions under a zero-tolerance principle, including corrective orders and suspensions of business operations.
City of Busan launches special planned investigation; pushing to scrap the cap on compensation for damage reports
The city of Busan will also significantly strengthen its own enforcement network. The city plans to conduct special planned investigations of lodging businesses focused on major tourist hubs such as Busan Station, Seomyeon, and areas around the concert venue through June 15. It will crack down in particular on cases of unreported illegal lodging business operations and violations of the obligation to post price information, and it plans to respond strictly, including filing criminal charges, when it detects illegal matters.
The reporting system for consumer harm relief will also be made more sophisticated. Cases of damage such as unauthorized cancellations of reservations submitted through the local area code 120 and the Tourism Inconvenience Reporting Center at 1330 are shared with local governments in real time and reflected immediately in on-site enforcement. The data will also be used as basic materials for the National Tax Service’s investigations into tax evasion. Further, the government is moving quickly to revise related regulations so that it will scrap the entire cap on report bounty payments to activate tips about illegal acts, and so that up to 10% of imposed administrative surcharges can be paid out as bounties.
