Pilates studio owner vanishes after selling memberships, citing sudden detention

A pilates studio owner in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, abruptly stopped running the business after claiming to have been suddenly detained. The closure prompted a string of complaints from members accusing the owner of fraud. Members say the studio compounded the damage by continuing to sell memberships even after it had already filed to close the business.

As of Friday, the Gangseo Police Station in Seoul opened an investigation after receiving complaints from pilates studio members accusing the owner, identified only as A, of fraud. Police plan to question the complainants while looking into how the studio sold memberships and the circumstances surrounding its closure.

In a group text message sent to members on Sunday, A said, "Due to personal circumstances, I have been suddenly detained and will be away for about six months." "I will issue refunds as quickly and systematically as possible after my release," the message added.

A is currently held at a correctional facility. The specific reason for the detention has not been confirmed.

Victims claim the studio had already filed for business closure with the local tax office on June 8. Yet it continued selling memberships and transferring them through secondhand trading platforms until recently. They allege the studio kept selling memberships without disclosing that normal operations and refunds had become impossible due to the closure.

Victims further allege that payments were made via bank transfer to accounts held under third parties' names rather than A's own. They add that this also occurred in transactions for transfer rights conducted through secondhand platforms.

More than 70 people have joined a group chat set up by victims, who say their combined losses already amount to tens of millions of won. As more victims continue to come forward, police are reportedly considering combining the case with related investigations.

A member who paid 790,000 won ($590) for a package of 100 pilates sessions last December told The Herald Business, "I went to sign up after receiving a notice about a big discount." The member added, "I only found out about what had happened after receiving the group text on Sunday night."

The member said, "I tried contacting the owner, but the phone was off, and the studio didn't answer calls either. It seems everything was running normally until just before this happened." The member still has 63 unused sessions remaining and has not received a refund for the unused portion, worth 497,700 won. The member has also filed a complaint with police.

It has also emerged that A ran a gym in Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu, last year, which closed abruptly. A member left with an unused membership when the gym suddenly closed said, "At first, the owner refunded small membership amounts, but at some point, we simply couldn't reach them anymore." The member added, "I'm planning to resolve this through civil litigation."

Meanwhile, complaints about pilates studios closing without refunding fees continue to arise. The number of damage-relief cases involving pilates studio closures filed with the Korea Consumer Agency rose 48 percent over two years, from 77 in 2023 to 114 in 2025. As of July this year, 42 such cases had already been filed.

In a survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency last year, 9.9 percent of pilates users and 11.5 percent of yoga users said they had failed to receive refunds after a business abruptly closed.

In response to the recurring damage, the Korea Fair Trade Commission established standard terms and conditions for the yoga and pilates industry in July. The rules specify criteria for calculating cancellation fees and refunds when contracts are terminated. However, even with the standard terms in place, consumers still face difficulty actually recovering their money if a business suddenly closes or the operator loses the ability to issue refunds.