Gwangyang City Cracks Down on Overcharging at Vacation Spots During Holiday Season

Formation of Joint Inspection Team, Operation of Unfair Fare Reporting Center, etc.

Gwangyang City in Jeollanam-do announced on the 11th that it has established a ‘Summer Vacation Price Stabilization Plan’ to crack down on overcharging, enforce price tag display compliance, and promote the use of legal measurement units as the peak summer vacation season begins.

This crackdown will be conducted as a joint inspection involving six collaborative departments, including the Gwangyang City Investment and Economy Division, targeting popular summer vacation spots such as the four major valleys of Baegunsan Mountain, guesthouses, amusement parks, and campgrounds.

[Photo by Gwangyang-si]

In particular, the city plans to expand the inspection areas to include local markets such as the Gwangyang 5-Day Market to maintain the price stabilization momentum.

The special measures period will operate for about three months until the end of September, focusing on areas such as ▲ unauthorized business operations at vacation spots ▲ failure to display price tags and overcharging beyond displayed prices ▲ failure to indicate the origin of products ▲ hoarding ▲ hygiene conditions and sale of substandard food products.

Additionally, a Vacation Spot Unfair Pricing Report Center will be operated to receive reports of unfair commercial practices such as overcharging and seat fees, with on-site verification followed by corrective actions.

Lee Hwa-yeop, head of the Investment and Economy Division, said, “With the easing of COVID-19 and the start of the peak vacation season, we expect many citizens and tourists to visit local vacation spots, so we will continuously educate to prevent inconveniences such as overcharging.”

He added, “We ask those operating restaurants, guesthouses, and campgrounds around the four major valleys of Baegunsan Mountain to cooperate by maintaining kindness, hygiene, and compliance with displayed prices, as if their own family were using the facilities, to uphold fair commercial order.”

Meanwhile, since January, the city has been operating a Consumer Counseling Office and a Mobile Consumer Reporting Center to handle consumer complaints and damages and improve unfair transaction practices. It also publishes weekly price trends for personal service fees on the city’s website to provide consumers with rational choices and to curb price increases.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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