Membership Sales Until Just Before Opening... Suddenly Closed Brand Health Club

Estimated Thousands of Victims Nationwide
Damage Amount per Person Ranges from 500,000 to 4,500,000 Won

A nationwide gym chain with dozens of branches suddenly closed down, sparking controversy as members have been unable to get refunds for their memberships, leading to accusations of a 'meoktwi' (scam and run).

According to the Gimpo Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the 14th, a well-known gym operating 28 branches nationwide abruptly shut down overnight, resulting in a series of complaints from victims.

The number of victims is estimated to be in the thousands across the country. The scale of the damage is not yet accurately known, including not only members who purchased gym passes but also employees who were unpaid wages and related companies that did not receive payment for equipment.

A gym with dozens of branches nationwide suddenly closed down. Members are unable to get refunds for their memberships, sparking controversy over alleged fraud. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Gimpo Police Station filed charges against the gym's CEO, Mr. A, on suspicion of fraud. By around 7 p.m. that day, 45 victims had filed complaints. The reported damages ranged widely from a minimum of 500,000 KRW to a maximum of 4.5 million KRW.

According to the police, Mr. A closed two gyms he operated in Gimpo City without refunding the remaining membership fees to members who had purchased passes. Additionally, one of these gyms recruited members before opening but delayed the opening date and ultimately never opened.

Earlier, on the 8th, the gym brand sent a text message to members citing financial difficulties, stating, "All gyms have been separated, the brand has disappeared and been sold," and "Refunds are difficult."

Victims related to the gym are having a conversation in a group chat.
[Photo by YTN]

Victims claim that Mr. A postponed refunding membership fees repeatedly and then suddenly notified them. Currently, the gym’s official website is inaccessible. Some branches have reportedly been taken over by other companies.

According to the police, in addition to Gimpo, there are over 1,000 victims who suffered similar damages at other branches in Gyeonggi areas such as Bucheon and Goyang, as well as in the Seoul and Incheon metropolitan areas.

The police plan to quickly assess the damage reports received both online and offline, investigate the operational structure to determine whether the gyms were directly managed or franchised, and then identify responsibility and collect evidence related to the charges.

Meanwhile, cases of gyms suddenly closing after selling long-term memberships continue to occur every year.

There have been cases where operators who sold long-term memberships without the financial capacity to run the gyms were sentenced to suspended prison terms.

In 2021, the Seoul Northern District Court sentenced gym operator Mr. A (28), who was tried on fraud charges, to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension and ordered him to compensate the victims.

Mr. A was accused of deceiving 30 members by claiming there were no issues despite having overdue gym management fees and rent since August 2019, and lacking the ability to operate the gym long-term, while collecting usage fees.

Mr. A sold memberships under conditions such as, "If you pay 1,350,000 KRW, you can use 30 personal training (PT) sessions. The period is 3 months, but if there are circumstances, you can use all sessions until completed," and "If you pay 299,000 KRW, you can use the gym for one year starting from the end of the PT sessions."

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