If Wedding Postponed Due to Social Distancing Level 2, Cancellation Fee Waived... 40% Discount on Cancellation Fee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The standard terms and conditions in the wedding industry have been revised to include provisions that waive cancellation fees if a wedding is postponed due to the implementation of social distancing level 2 measures amid the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 29th, the Korea Fair Trade Commission announced that it has finalized and will implement the revised standard terms and conditions for the wedding industry and the consumer dispute resolution standards.

First, the revision includes criteria for reducing cancellation fees related to first-class infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

If a wedding is postponed or the minimum guaranteed number of guests is adjusted under social distancing level 2 measures that restrict indoor gatherings of 50 or more people, no cancellation fee will be charged.

If the wedding is canceled, 40% of the cancellation fee will be waived.

If the wedding venue is closed or operations are suspended due to an infectious disease, or if the wedding location or the user's residence is declared a special disaster area making the wedding impossible, the wedding can be canceled without any cancellation fee.

For example, if a wedding is contracted this year to be held on March 30 next year, and a closure order for the wedding venue is issued for one week starting March 27 next year, the wedding can be canceled without paying a cancellation fee.

However, if some costs have already been incurred due to partial contract fulfillment before cancellation, the consumer must bear those costs.

Under social distancing level 1 measures, such as recommendations to comply with quarantine rules, a 20% reduction in cancellation fees applies when canceling the wedding.

New refund regulations and consumer withdrawal rights have also been established.

Consumers can receive a full refund of the deposit within 15 days from the contract date. The regulations also clarify that cancellation fees will not be excessively charged even if the contract is canceled due to consumer fault.

Additionally, in cases of contract termination due to consumer fault, the timing for consumers to receive a refund of the deposit has been adjusted from 3 months to 5 months before the scheduled wedding date.

The rules for calculating cancellation fees for both businesses and consumers have been standardized, and the meaning of total costs, which serve as the basis for calculating cancellation fees, has been clearly defined.

Previously, if the business was at fault, the business only had to compensate the wedding costs, but if the consumer was at fault, the consumer had to pay 10?35% of the total costs, which was problematic.

A Fair Trade Commission official said, "We expect disputes over cancellation fees between engaged couples and businesses due to large-scale infectious diseases to be resolved quickly," and added, "We will notify the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Korea Wedding Industry Association of the standard terms and encourage their active use."

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