Wedding Postponed by 6 Months Without Cancellation Fee... Minimum Guaranteed Attendance Also to Be Reduced

Consumer Damage Prevention Measures Following the Implementation of Social Distancing Level 2

Fair Trade Commission Recommends Voluntary Dispute Resolution to Wedding Industry Association
Wedding Industry Association Accepts Fair Trade Commission's Request

Fair Trade Commission Aims to Establish Exemption and Reduction Criteria for Penalties Related to Infectious Diseases in the Wedding Industry by September

(Photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] In cases where weddings are inevitably postponed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), postponement without penalty is now possible for up to six months.

According to the Fair Trade Commission on the 21st, the Wedding Industry Association accepted the Fair Trade Commission's request the previous day and announced that when consumers request a postponement, they will allow postponement without penalty for up to six months from the scheduled wedding date, or, if proceeding as planned, adjust the minimum guaranteed number of guests according to the circumstances of individual member companies.

Earlier, the Fair Trade Commission requested the Wedding Industry Association to allow postponement of weddings without penalty or adjustment of the minimum guaranteed number of guests to minimize damage to couples preparing for weddings due to the implementation of social distancing level 2. The Wedding Industry Association accepted this request from the Fair Trade Commission.

Additionally, the Fair Trade Commission strongly recommended that non-member wedding companies not affiliated with the Wedding Industry Association also implement measures equivalent to those accepted by the Wedding Industry Association. Among approximately 200 wedding companies in the metropolitan area, about 150 are members of the Wedding Industry Association.

The Fair Trade Commission plans to continue encouraging cooperation through meetings with non-member wedding companies and to discover and introduce best practices.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Fair Trade Commission has been discussing with related industries and stakeholders to establish exemption and reduction criteria for penalties related to infectious diseases in five sectors: weddings, dining, travel, aviation, and accommodation. The main point is to allow contract cancellations without penalty when a special disaster area is declared due to an infectious disease outbreak or when contract fulfillment becomes impossible due to facility operation suspension or closure orders. Furthermore, when the infectious disease crisis alert is at a severe level or when indoor capacity restrictions make contract fulfillment difficult, measures will be prepared to allow contract modifications without penalty or to reduce penalties upon contract cancellation. A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "In the case of the wedding industry, considering discussions with the relevant dispute department and the industry, we are aiming to complete this by next month."

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