[Exclusive] Actor A Demands Refund, Exhibits Excessive Misconduct Toward Golf Course Caddy

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Last month, actor Park Mo, who visited a golf course in the Seoul metropolitan area, expressed complaints about the golf course assistant (commonly known as a caddie) and the golf course itself on his SNS and website bulletin board. However, the assistant expressed great distress and emotional shock, claiming it was very unfair, and announced a forthcoming dispute over the truth. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Culture Life Department Reporter Lee Isul] "If I had done something wrong, I would understand, but since that’s not necessarily the case, being unfairly attacked makes me feel conflicted and even humiliated."(Golf course game assistant)

"I wasn’t feeling well, and (feeling ignored) made me uncomfortable."(Actress Park, female)

Whose words are closer to the truth? As golf becomes more popular, conflicts between golfers enjoying the sport and game assistants (caddies) helping with the progress are increasing. Especially among celebrities like actors, there are voices saying that many disputes arise due to slow play while they focus more on creating content for Instagram and other social media. Some even post one-sided claims on SNS that they were treated unfairly by their caddies, causing socially vulnerable caddies to be frequently vilified and hurt.

A recent incident at a golf course in the metropolitan area is a representative example of such conflicts. Through interviews with direct and indirect parties involved, looking into the situation, the caddie’s feelings of injustice stand out more than the actor’s strong complaints.

The incident took place last June at a golf course in the metropolitan area. Actress Park enjoyed golf there with her group. Her SNS shows several photos taken at the golf course with happy expressions. However, the hashtags tell a different story. Words like "trash," "unpleasant," and "never going again" stand out. Why did she add hashtags so different from the mood of the photos?

According to the caddie who served Park’s group, she took photos at every hole and chatted with her companions, which slowed down the progress significantly. The group behind them, starting 7 minutes later, requested via radio to pay attention to the pace from the early stages of the game. The caddie tried to encourage faster movement, but Park instead shouted loudly at the caddie. She also continued slow play while taking staged photos at every hole. When finishing the round, she left without even a word of thanks to the caddie.

Park’s attacks on the caddie and the golf course intensified after the game ended. Two days after finishing, she repeatedly called the golf course demanding a refund of the caddie fee. When the refund was refused, she posted a review on the golf course’s website expressing dissatisfaction. In the post, she vilified the caddie using words like "trash" and "caddies’ ignorance is a mess." She also claimed the caddie got annoyed and pressured her to hit the ball faster. On SNS, she named the golf course and wrote she would never go back.

Actor Park Mo posted several photos taken last month at a golf course in the Seoul metropolitan area with a cheerful expression on his SNS. However, the hashtags and the review posted on the golf course include words such as "trash," "ignorance," and "*pan." Photo by Park Mo SNS capture. Screenshot of the golf course review board.

The caddie said reading the posts on the website and SNS caused great mental distress due to the unfairness. He emphasized that all the reviews posted on the website were false. "No matter the customer, but especially someone who obviously looks like an actor, it’s impossible to treat them rudely or speak harshly," he said.

Looking at this, it becomes possible to evaluate the conflicting claims between actress Park and the caddie. Weekend golfer A said, "Anyone who enjoys golf pays a lot of attention to slow play by the group ahead," adding, "If you meet a group right in front of you that keeps moving slowly while staging photos for SNS, it would ruin the entire day’s schedule." A golf course official said, "It’s not uncommon for players who cause slow play to shift all the blame onto the caddie and vilify them," and added, "Even when clearly treated unfairly, caddies often suffer in silence without revealing the truth because of their vulnerable position."

In fact, one-sided harm to caddies happens routinely. They are in such a vulnerable environment that even former National Assembly speakers have openly sexually harassed them. Because of this, many caddies suffer from customers who slander or vilify them unilaterally, as in this case. Another caddie working at a different golf course, B, also lamented, "The wounds caused by some customers’ ignorant attitudes toward caddies are nothing new."

The era when "the customer is king" and any behavior was tolerated is already over. Cases where customers falsely make unreasonable demands and shout at employees in large retail stores are quickly exposed as unfair through CCTV. However, caddies working in the vast space of golf courses suffer from the unilateral tyranny of politicians, actors, and other celebrities in blind spots where CCTV is insufficient.

Meanwhile, attempts to contact actress Park for confirmation of these details were unsuccessful as she did not answer calls or respond to messages.