Victoria Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. (image: Victoria Golf Club)
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in increasing preference towards outdoor activities, public golf courses are gaining popularity among South Koreans who are unable to go overseas to play golf.
On the back of the increasing popularity of the public courses, green fees are soaring, causing mounting criticism.
According to the Korea Leisure Industry Institute, the nation’s average weekday green fees for public courses shot up to 146,000 won (US$129) in October, up 18.5 percent from 123,000 won in May 2018.
The growth rate in the green fees for public courses is about three times higher than those for non-members of membership golf courses.
The gap between the weekday green fees for public courses and those of membership courses narrowed to 32,800 won in October from 51,700 won in 2011.
“The price of green fees has risen sharply since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, particularly led by public courses. Despite the government’s tax benefits for public courses, they pushed up prices to a level similar to those of membership courses,” said Seo Cheon-beom, head of the Korea Leisure Industry Institute.
To help popularize golf, the government has greatly reduced taxes on public courses.
“The number of public golf courses around the country is now assessed at about 320. For them, the government is estimated to have provided a huge tax benefit of 700-800 billion won in 2019 alone,” said Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the ruling Democratic Party.
“Given that the government gives significant tax benefits to public courses as a way to promote the popularization of the sport of golf, it would be desirable to set up a special committee to control the green fees of the public courses.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
