Forced Accommodation Sales and Food Add-Ons... Complaints Surge Over Golf Course Abuses

Anti-Corruption Commission Receives 884 Complaints Over 3 Years
Regarding Reservations, Cancellations, and Excessive Penalty Fees

Recently, complaints related to golf courses, such as forced accommodation purchases and non-compliance with standard terms and conditions, have been rapidly increasing. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) disclosed statistics on golf course-related complaints received from July 2021 to last June on the 26th.

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According to the ACRC's complaint information analysis system, a total of 884 complaints were filed over the past three years. The average monthly complaints, which were only 21.82 cases in the second half of 2021, increased to 27.8 cases in the first half of this year.

Among the complainants, 84.2% were male and 15.8% were female. By age group, those in their 40s to 60s accounted for 81% of all complaints.

By type, complaints related to golf course reservations and cancellations accounted for the largest portion with 411 cases (46.5%). Complaints about non-compliance with public golf course usage rules and food-related issues recorded 370 cases (41.9%) and 31 cases (3.5%), respectively.

Major complaints regarding golf course reservation cancellations included so-called "bundling," where members were forced to purchase accommodation vouchers and restaurant services, as well as issues with unreasonable refund policies. Complaints were received about being forced to buy condo accommodation vouchers, gift certificates, or order food when booking golf rounds, and being excluded from the reservation team for the following year if these demands were not met.

Issues of securing golf course reservations using illegal macros were also reported. One complainant told the ACRC, "I accessed the website as soon as the reservation opened, but all slots were fully booked in less than a second," and added, "It seems someone is unfairly making reservations using a macro program," filing a complaint with the ACRC.

Other major complaints related to unfair use included providing reservation opportunities only to deposit payers at public golf courses or allocating reservations favorably to high-ranking military officials.

Regarding food, complaints were received about excessive measures against bringing in outside food and golf course restaurant prices being several times higher than market prices.

The ACRC plans to deliver the results of this complaint analysis to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Fair Trade Commission to enhance consumer rights in golf course usage.

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