Wedding venues, planners face fines up to W100m for hiding prices

The Korea Fair Trade Commission will inspect wedding venues and wedding planning agencies for compliance with mandatory price disclosure rules, with fines of up to 100 million won ($68,200) for those that fail to publish key pricing information.

The Fair Trade Commission announced Thursday that it will begin a focused inspection of the wedding services industry — covering wedding venues and wedding planning agencies — starting Saturday, checking compliance with its "Important Disclosure and Advertising Items Notice," commonly known as the important information notice.

The inspection comes after a six-month grace period following the revised important information notice — which took effect Nov. 12 last year — has now expired, yet compliance among affected businesses remains insufficient.

The commission revised the notice to protect couples from unexpected additional costs arising when they cannot find out in advance the venue rental fee, catering charges, decoration costs, and package prices for studio photography, wedding dresses and makeup services.

Under the revised notice, wedding venue operators and wedding planning agencies must post itemized details and fees for both standard services and optional add-ons, along with cancellation penalty terms and refund standards, on either their own website or the Korea Consumer Agency's "Chamgagyeok" price portal, and on the cover page of their contracts.

Businesses that require consumers to sign up for membership or submit personal information before viewing pricing may also be found in violation of the disclosure obligation.

Wedding planning agencies that connect couples with affiliated studios, dress shops and makeup artists must separately disclose the service details, fees, cancellation penalties and refund terms for each affiliated provider. Failure to do so can result in fines of up to 100 million won.

The commission said it plans to gradually expand the scope of inspections through the end of the year, with ongoing reviews and corrective action, so that couples can make informed choices based on full pricing information.