Korea Consumer Agency Warns of Consumer Damage in Air Travel, Delivery, and Gift Cards During Lunar New Year Holiday

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] #Last year, Mr. A visited the airport to travel to the Philippines ahead of the Lunar New Year. However, the flight was delayed by 8 hours due to airline circumstances. Due to the flight delay, travel schedules and accommodations were disrupted, and compensation was requested from the airline, but it was refused.

The Korea Consumer Agency and the Fair Trade Commission urged caution on the 14th regarding the airline, courier, and gift certificate sectors, where consumer damages frequently occur during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Services related to airlines, couriers, and gift certificates see a significant increase in consumer use during January and February, which include the Lunar New Year holiday, and consumer damages related to these services continue to occur, requiring consumers to exercise special caution.

According to the Consumer Agency and the Fair Trade Commission, more than 1,000 cases of consumer damages occur annually in the airline, courier, and gift certificate service sectors. Last year, the number of consumer damage relief cases related to these services reached 1,490.

Typical consumer damage cases include ▲(Airline) refusal to compensate for flight delays/cancellations and lost/damaged checked baggage ▲(Courier) loss/damage of goods, delivery delays ▲(Gift certificates) refusal to refund after expiration, refusal to extend unused gift certificate validity periods, etc.

Due to the concentration of courier service use during the Lunar New Year holiday, many incidents of lost/damaged goods and delivery delays were reported. In the case of fresh and frozen foods, damages such as delivery in spoiled or deteriorated condition also occurred.

There were also many reports of damages related to refusal of use or refund due to expiration of gift certificates. In airline services, consumer damage cases mainly involved refusal of appropriate compensation for lost checked baggage.

The Consumer Agency advised that when selecting services or products, consumers should carefully decide by comprehensively comparing prices, transaction conditions, product information, and company information. They also explained that consumers who suffer damages should keep evidence such as contracts, receipts, photos, and videos to demand compensation from businesses.

The Consumer Agency and the Fair Trade Commission stated, "We recommend that businesses provide accurate information about prices and transaction conditions in a way that consumers can easily understand, and clearly notify consumers in advance if the terms of use differ from standard terms or consumer dispute resolution standards."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.