This undated file photo shows a deserted wedding hall in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Disputes over wedding contracts have increased dramatically following the coronavirus outbreak, a consumer watchdog said Tuesday.
The Korea Consumer Agency reported 746 cases of damage redress in the marriage industry (wedding halls, wedding planners, and matchmaking agencies), rising by a factor of 1.5 since 2018 (496 cases) prior to the pandemic.
There were 668 cases of damage redress in 2019. This year, there were 372 cases reported between January and July 20.
Sorted by type, 72 percent of all redress cases between 2018 and July of this year (2,282 cases) involved issues over damages for breach of contract in the wedding industry (1,659 cases).
In response, the Korea Fair Trade Commission changed the terms and conditions of the overall wedding industry last year to allow wedding hall reservations to be postponed or customers to adjust the number of reserved guests without having to pay for any breach of contract as long as medical authorities have issued a related administrative order.
Experts question the effectiveness of the measure since it is no more than a simple recommendation.
In addition, wedding halls are facing a precipitous drop in reservations and many are struggling to remain afloat, making it difficult to blame them for the rising number of disputes over breach of contract.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
