Recently, a bride-to-be surnamed Kim (33) who visited a wedding fair signed a contract with jewelry company A and deposited 300,000 won. She was enticed by the company's promise to provide a 30% discount coupon if she paid the deposit on the spot. A week later, Kim visited the company but, unable to find a wedding gift she liked, requested a refund of her deposit. However, the company responded that the contract explicitly stated the deposit was non-refundable and refused to return the money.

A wedding expo held in Busan.

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Wedding fair vendors are increasingly inducing customers to pay deposits and then refusing refunds. These companies claim that once the deposit is paid, a formal contract is considered established, and thus no refunds can be provided.

According to data released by the Korea Consumer Agency last September, a total of 444 applications for damage relief related to wedding fairs were filed from 2022 to last July. The most common reason was refusal to withdraw from the contract, accounting for 46.8% (208 cases), followed by refusal to terminate the contract and excessive penalty charges at 43% (191 cases). By item, wedding preparation agency services made up 48.2% (214 cases), wedding attire and Hanbok rentals 20.5% (91 cases), and jewelry contracts such as wedding gifts 14.6% (65 cases).

In reality, many soon-to-be-married couples have reported being denied refunds after signing contracts with jewelry and wedding attire companies at wedding fairs. They confess that they were tempted by free gifts and ended up signing contracts on the spot without much thought.

Park, a groom-to-be (34), said, "The wedding attire company offered to throw in several hundred thousand won worth of handmade shoes as a service if I paid the deposit on the spot," adding, "When the company laid out the free gifts right in front of me, as a customer, I felt like I would be losing out if I bought the product at full price without taking the deal."

The problem is that if customers later change their minds and try to withdraw from the contract, it is difficult to get their deposit back. These companies insist that a formal contract is established as soon as the deposit is paid, so refunds are not possible. They often state the non-refundable policy explicitly in the contract.

A citizen is walking past a mannequin dressed in a wedding gown on Wedding Street in Ahyeon-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

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Choi, a bride-to-be (29) scheduled to marry in December next year, was unable to get her deposit back from a jewelry company and ended up going through with the purchase as planned. Choi said, "The company refused to return my deposit, citing the non-refundable clause in the contract," and added, "Since I had already paid, I felt it would be a waste to lose the money, so I reluctantly purchased the wedding ring."

However, consumer advocates point out that such contract refusals by wedding companies may be illegal. Since contracts made at wedding fairs involve the business owner selling services outside their usual place of business, refund policies under the Act on Door-to-Door Sales should apply.

A representative from the Korea Consumer Agency explained, "According to the Door-to-Door Sales Act, consumers can withdraw from the contract or request a refund of the deposit within 14 days. If a company refuses a refund, consumers can apply for damage relief through the Korea Consumer Agency, and if the business still refuses, the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee can initiate mediation procedures."