Frequent Wedding Hall Disputes Amid COVID-19 Spread... Incheon City Opens Counseling Hotline for Mediation

Operation of Dedicated Consultation Hotline with 3 Consumer Organizations

Incheon City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City has stepped in to mediate disputes related to wedding halls in collaboration with consumer organizations.

The city announced on the 31st that, as disputes over cancellation fees between engaged couples and wedding halls have resurfaced due to strengthened social distancing measures amid the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), it will open and operate dedicated consultation hotlines through three consumer organizations.

Following government guidelines limiting guests to 50 or fewer, engaged couples want to adjust costs such as meal fees or postpone weddings, while wedding halls insist they can only reduce the guaranteed number of meals partially and cannot allow postponements, leading to conflicts.

In particular, wedding halls argue that since they receive meal fees instead of usage fees, there is a limit to adjusting the guaranteed number of guests, and because wedding reservations are made about a year in advance, postponements are practically difficult to accept.

Citizens needing consultation can report their damages to Incheon Consumer Federation (434-9898), Incheon Green Consumer Network (429-6112), or Incheon Consumer Public Interest Network (521-4302).

The city and consumer organizations will mediate with wedding businesses once dispute consultations are received. If mediation fails, they plan to seek adjustment through the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee.

According to the '1372 Consumer Counseling Center,' from January 20 to the 25th of last month this year, there were 4,075 COVID-19 related wedding hall consultations received by the center, of which Incheon citizens accounted for 225 cases, or 5.5%.

Consumer consultations related to wedding halls surged sharply in February and March when COVID-19 began spreading but gradually decreased; however, they are increasing again due to the recent resurgence centered in the metropolitan area.

Although the Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Wedding Industry Association agreed on free postponements within six months and reducing the guaranteed number of meals, only 30% of wedding businesses are members of the association, making mediation unavoidable when disputes arise with non-member wedding halls.

An Incheon city official stated, "We understand the business difficulties of wedding halls, but since this is an unavoidable situation due to COVID-19, we will do our best to mediate so that both sides can compromise and resolve the issues amicably."

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