'Ease up, seriously': BTS concert sparks Busan hotel price-gouging probe

Police have launched an investigation into Busan accommodations suspected of canceling existing reservations and relisting rooms at inflated prices after BTS announced a concert in the city.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency's anti-corruption and financial crimes unit said Tuesday it is investigating several Busan lodging establishments on fraud charges.

One establishment is suspected of calling guests who had booked rooms for the nights of the BTS Busan concert — June 12 and 13 — and telling them in May that their reservations had been canceled due to overbooking, only to relist the same rooms on online accommodation platforms at sharply higher prices.

One affected guest told police: "I booked a room in January for about 90,000 won ($65), and four months later they asked me to cancel — then I found the same room being sold on the same dates at eight times the price."

Police said the establishment deceived guests with false claims, causing financial harm while seeking to profit, and determined that fraud charges apply.

Social media has seen a wave of similar accounts since BTS announced the Busan dates. One user wrote: "I booked a room months ago for 100,000 won ($72), and they canceled it on their own saying there was a double booking — then put it back up for 1.5 million won ($1,080)."

BTS members have also weighed in on the surge in accommodation prices. Leader RM, speaking during a Weverse live broadcast following the American Music Awards on May 26, said there had been a lot of news about the Busan lodging situation. "Even if we wanted to fix it, there's nothing we can do," he said.

He then addressed Busan accommodation operators directly: "Ease up, seriously. For real." Jimin, who is from Busan, also said he hoped fans would leave the city with only good memories.

Police plan to review complaints forwarded from the Korea Tourism Organization's tourism grievance center to determine whether similar practices occurred at other establishments.

About 80 percent of price-gouging complaints filed with the center between January and May involved foreign visitors, police said. Officers noted that the actual number of foreign victims is likely higher, as language barriers, short stays and limited familiarity with Korean law and regulations may have prevented many from filing reports.

"We will conduct a thorough investigation and take strict action if criminal charges are substantiated," a police official said. "We expect there are more similar cases, and we plan to expand the probe accordingly."