South Korea moves to curb hotel price gouging during major concerts

SEOUL – Hotels and Airbnb hosts in South Korea will soon face penalties for price gouging and unjustified cancelling of reservations ahead of major events.On July 31, a revision to the Tourism Promotion Act stipulating such measures was proposed, which would make it mandatory for accommodation providers to disclose prices and ban unfair business practices such as unreasonable price hikes and reservation cancellations.Under the Bill, violators could face sanctions such as restrictions on support from the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund, clawback of loans and levying surcharges.This is the third such Bill being proposed in 2026, coming days after an enforcement decree tightening regulations was approved at a Cabinet meeting.Under the decree, hotels and other accommodation services that fail to provide price information or overcharges the room will face suspension of business on the first offence.The move by lawmakers and the government come in response to increasing complaints by local and foreign consumers over accommodation providers incurring excessive charges or cancelling reservations to resell rooms at higher prices ahead of major international conventions, festivals or concerts.One recent instance came ahead of BTS’ “Arirang” world tour in Busan, when fans reported being charged exorbitant rates or having their normally priced rooms cancelled without explanation. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK