"Wedding Companies Struggling, Government Asked for Help" 청 청원 등장

A petition titled "Wedding companies are also struggling a lot. Active government support is needed" posted on the Blue House National Petition website on the 24th. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has intensified and social distancing has been raised to level 2, group gatherings have been limited to fewer than 50 people, leading to escalating conflicts surrounding weddings. The wedding industry is showing opposition, stating that it is practically difficult to hold 'weddings with fewer than 50 people.'

On the 24th, a petition titled "Wedding companies are also struggling a lot. Active government support is needed" appeared on the Blue House National Petition website. As of 2:57 PM on the 24th, this petition had gained 9,135 supporters.

The petitioner explained, "In recent days, through national petitions and media reports, it has been highlighted that wedding companies are acting with 'power harassment' without considering the positions of the bride and groom at all," adding, "Wedding companies do not allow adjustments in the number of attendees or impose penalties for postponements."

The petitioner countered, stating, "Wedding companies are also businesses," and "Due to mass cancellations and event postponements caused by COVID-19, wedding companies have been operating at a loss for a long time, and about 15 companies in the region alone have closed down because they could not endure the situation."

The petitioner appealed, "The media and others criticize the power harassment of wedding companies, but realistically, due to the government's 'ban on gatherings of 50 or more people,' customers are making unreasonable demands that wedding companies find difficult to accept."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The petitioner also revealed, "We are receiving unreasonable demands from customers such as waiving penalties for cancellations as the situation is akin to a natural disaster, waiving penalties for postponements, paying only for 50 people out of 300 to 400 contracted attendees, and providing expensive return gifts instead of meals."

They continued, "With rising labor costs, even if a normal event is held, business management is difficult. Holding events with 50 people under these circumstances only worsens the deficit, and we have to take out more corporate loans, which we have been receiving since early this year, to cover expenses," adding, "There are no changes in building rent, maintenance fees, or labor costs; in fact, the increasing costs make the situation even more bleak."

The petitioner requested, "We ask the government for active support," and demanded, "Considering that there have been no major COVID-19 outbreaks in the wedding industry, either strengthen quarantine rules to allow normal events or suspend the wedding industry, which is classified as a high-risk group, according to the principles."

Earlier, the government established a policy that all gatherings, meetings, and events must comply with the number limits as social distancing was raised to level 2: fewer than 50 people indoors and fewer than 100 people outdoors. Accordingly, weddings must also invite fewer than 50 people, and providing meals is basically prohibited.

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