Surge in Wedding and Dining Consumer Complaints Amid COVID-19 Impact

Top Items by Consumer Inquiry Growth Rate

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] In December last year, consumer consultations related to wedding services, accommodation facilities, and dining increased due to the impact of the third wave of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 22nd, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that the number of consultations received by the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center in December last year was 60,724, a 4.9% increase compared to the previous month. Compared to December 2019, it increased by 1.8%.

In particular, consultations related to wedding services showed the highest growth rate, increasing by 129.2% compared to the previous month. This was followed by various accommodation facilities (115.6%) and dining (108.3%) with high consultation growth rates. Consultations related to wedding services mainly involved cases where consumers tried to adjust the guaranteed number of attendees and schedules due to concerns about COVID-19 infection. In the case of dining, many consumers complained that the cancellation fees imposed when canceling reservations due to the ban on gatherings of five or more people were excessive. Compared to the same month last year, the consultation increase rate for wedding services (685.1%) was the highest.

Consultations regarding health and hygiene products, such as requests for refunds claiming that health masks purchased through e-commerce were defective products, increased by 474.6%. Consultations related to financial products also jumped by 392.9%. This was because smishing (financial fraud or hacking using text messages) impersonating the Consumer Agency occurred, leading to an increase in consumers asking about countermeasures. The product category with the highest number of consultations in December last year was clothing and textiles.

The Consumer Agency explained, "Consultations related to clothing and textiles were the most frequent from early to late December, especially frequent were refund-related consultations for clothing purchased through e-commerce," and added, "In late December, consultations related to contract cancellations for various accommodation facilities increased due to the ban on gatherings of five or more people."

The reasons for consultations were in order: quality and after-sales service (A/S) related (24%), contract cancellation and penalty fees (23.1%), and contract non-fulfillment (12.5%).