At the Wedding Hall, 'Debt Collection' Is Illegal... The Story Behind Collecting 5.93 Million Won

The story of a creditor who went to the debtor's wedding hall to collect a debt of 5.93 million won that had not been repaid for over six months has become a hot topic online.

Publicly demanding debt repayment at weddings or funerals is an illegal act punishable by a fine of up to 20 million won. However, thanks to the creditor's wise approach, they were able to recover several million won.

The image is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Kim Dahee, Asia Economy]

On the 18th and 19th, posts about how to collect unpaid debts at a wedding hall and related reviews were consecutively uploaded on the online community 'GaeDripNet.' The author, Mr. A, increased the credibility of the story by providing detailed circumstances along with photos taken at the wedding hall and personal photos.

Mr. A revealed that Mr. B delayed payment of 5.93 million won for food supply on credit for six months and then closed the restaurant. Mr. B also failed to keep his promise to deposit the store’s security deposit, which he was supposed to receive from the landlord, to Mr. A.

Mr. A stated that if he could not recover the 5.93 million won within this month, the logistics company he contracted would first pay the amount out of his own money and then proceed with a civil lawsuit against Mr. B.

Meanwhile, Mr. A learned from Mr. B’s KakaoTalk profile that he was getting married. Mr. A immediately contacted Mr. B and said, "Settle the wedding expenses and resolve it with the congratulatory money."

Mr. A said, "I will stand in front of the office where the wedding expenses are settled without mentioning money at the wedding hall, so let’s end the debt relationship that day." Mr. B replied, "Okay."

Debt Collection at Weddings and Funerals is Illegal under Current Law

Mr. A, who learned that demanding debt repayment at weddings or funerals is illegal, received advice on how to respond through legal consultation. [Image source: Capture from Gaedeuripnet]

The problem here is that demanding debt repayment at weddings or funerals is illegal. According to Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Act on the Fair Collection of Claims (Debt Collection Act), if a creditor publicly expresses the intention to collect a debt to the debtor or related persons by exploiting circumstances where the debtor finds it difficult to respond to debt collection, such as marriage or funerals, they may be fined up to 20 million won.

After learning this late, Mr. A sought advice on how to respond through legal consultation.

The lawyer informed Mr. A that as long as there is evidence (recordings or messages) of mutual agreement to repay the debt with congratulatory money in advance, and Mr. B’s debt is not publicly disclosed to third parties at the wedding hall, there would be no legal issues.

On the day of Mr. B’s wedding, Mr. A visited the wedding hall at his own expense and by his own car. According to Mr. A’s post, it took six hours to get to the wedding hall, covering a distance of 350 km, costing about 50,000 won including fuel.

Mr. A imagined scenarios such as "What if Mr. B’s friends were waiting with wooden sticks?" but fortunately, Mr. B paid 5.83 million won in cash. When Mr. A pointed out that 100,000 won was short, Mr. B took out two 50,000 won bills and repaid the amount.

Netizens also responded positively to Mr. A’s efforts to recover the debt. One netizen said, "It’s unfortunate that Mr. B didn’t even apologize, but at least it ended without incident."

Other netizens commented, "Getting married without paying back someone else’s money," "The debtor is like a boss in this world," and "It must feel relieving to have solved such a headache."

When asked if he intended to collect interest, Mr. A replied, "Mr. B has long-term delinquencies in finance, so if he declares bankruptcy or rehabilitation, there’s no answer. It’s better to recover the principal quickly even if I take a loss on actual expenses."