"Accommodation Prices Rising from 110,000 Won to 200,000 Won... Doubled Ahead of Psy's Heumbok Show"

Wonju City, "Conducting Accommodation Facility Mapping and Inspections"
Excessive Accommodation Price Increases Also Observed in Iksan City

In Wonju City, Gangwon Province, the city announced that it is conducting inspections related to lodging establishments following a controversy over price gouging ahead of singer Psy's concert.

2018 Psy's Hmphbok Show
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 7th, Wonju City stated, "Since the 28th of last month, we have been conducting guidance and inspections of lodging establishments to ensure a safe lodging environment and create a fair lodging market." The city launched inspections of lodging establishments after a controversy arose over lodging fees more than doubling on the day of Psy's 'Hmphbok Show' concert, which will be held on the 8th at Wonju Sports Complex.

In fact, for example, Hotel A located in Musil-dong, Wonju City, charges an average weekend lodging fee of around 110,000 KRW for two people. However, if one wants to stay on the 8th, the day of the Hmphbok Show, the fee rises to around 200,000 KRW. Similarly, Motel B in Dandae-dong previously offered reservations at around 60,000 KRW, but on the day of the Hmphbok Show, the price is set at around 120,000 KRW.

In response, the Wonju City Public Health Center is conducting guidance activities to prevent lodging establishments from excessively raising lodging fees. Additionally, the Public Health Center is inspecting whether lodging business licenses and lodging fee tables are posted and whether the Public Health Control Act is being complied with.

A similar case occurred last month in Iksan City, Jeonbuk Province. According to Iksan City, lodging fees in the Iksan area increased up to three times around the date of the Hmphbok Show concert on August 5th. Some lodging establishments even requested customers who had made reservations before the price increase to cancel their bookings.

Following the controversy, Iksan City announced that it will conduct on-site guidance, including customer service training for lodging establishments in the area until the end of August, and will monitor lodging fees to prevent excessive increases. Furthermore, if related laws are violated, administrative measures such as improvement orders or business suspensions will be imposed.

Meanwhile, Psy will conduct the nationwide tour 'Psy Hmphbok Show SUMMER SWAG 2023' in nine cities including Wonju, Daegu, and Busan until the end of August.

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