Will Revealing Wedding Costs Make 'Seudeume' Cheaper?…Government in Dilemma [Why&Next]

Ministry of Economy and Finance to Announce Marriage Service Support Plan Next Month
Attempt to Make All Sdeume Companies Disclose Prices Fails Amid Calls to Consider Industry Characteristics
Public Wedding Halls Spark Debate Over Disclosure Methods

An elderly couple is moving to take wedding photos at Choansan Hydrangea Hill in Nowon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The government, preparing a so-called ‘Seudeume (Studio·Dress·Makeup)’ price disclosure policy, is facing difficulties. There is little consensus internally on the specific implementation method. Although the policy was initiated due to the high cost of weddings, opinions are divided on the effectiveness of price reductions.

According to related ministries on the 28th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance will announce support measures for wedding services next month and reveal detailed implementation plans for the price disclosure system. It is likely that a new wedding service industry will be created and ‘wedding planners’ will be added to publicly disclose prices. Currently, while there are marriage brokerage businesses, there is no wedding service industry, so wedding planners have been operating freely without special registration.

While there is no disagreement on the broad framework, there is heated debate over the specific implementation methods. Initially, the Ministry of Economy and Finance planned to impose a price disclosure obligation on individual Seudeume companies. However, opposition arose internally, arguing that industry characteristics were not considered. Among the companies, some focus heavily on providing wedding services, while others do not provide them at all, resulting in great diversity. For example, there is an argument about whether it is justifiable to require a studio company that only takes wedding photos once a year to disclose price information.

Accordingly, it is reported that there is an opinion to exclude Seudeume companies from the price disclosure target. Since regulating only wedding planners would effectively allow the tracking of service prices. However, this creates a dilemma where consumers who do not use wedding planners and choose individual companies would find it difficult to benefit from price disclosure.

Uncertain Whether Seudeume Prices Will Drop Even If Policy Is Introduced

Expansion of public wedding halls has also encountered setbacks. In June, the Ministry of Economy and Finance newly opened 48 public facilities nationwide as wedding venues to reduce wedding costs. Although the plan to discover additional public wedding halls was considered for the measures to be announced at the end of this year, it faced opposition from local governments. The reason was that small-scale wedding hall operators in rural areas were severely impacted.

There is a significant difference in views with the industry regarding the method of disclosing wedding planner service prices. From the consumer perspective, forcing all price information to be listed on a specific platform is convenient, but the industry worries about increased administrative costs. Large companies have expressed their intention to disclose prices on their own websites, while small businesses prefer to provide prices directly to customers in person. If prices are not provided on a single platform, the effect of price comparison could be significantly reduced. However, there is also speculation that if each company discloses service prices, platforms for comparison will naturally emerge.

Even if the policy is successfully designed, it is uncertain whether wedding service prices will actually decrease. Even if prices are transparently disclosed, if it remains difficult to properly compare or demand does not decrease, the effect of price reduction may fall short of expectations. Measures to prevent loopholes after the system is implemented remain a concern. Due to the nature of wedding services, prices can be increased in various ways passed on to consumers.

The government emphasized that the policy goal is price disclosure itself, not artificial price reduction. A Ministry of Economy and Finance official explained, “We started preparing the policy because there is public opinion that wedding costs are high, but the government does not set price reduction as a policy goal,” adding, “Simply disclosing service prices can expand consumers’ range of choices.”