Culture Ministry: 111 Golf Courses Revise Unfair Terms on Penalties and Refunds

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on April 30 that, together with the Korea Consumer Agency, it conducted a survey last year on the compliance status of the 'Standard Terms and Conditions for Golf Course Use' at 355 public golf courses nationwide. After issuing two rounds of improvement recommendations to 111 golf courses that were found to be lacking, the ministry stated that all golf courses have now revised their unfair terms and conditions.

Public golf courses, according to Article 7-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the 'Sports Facilities Act,' set their course fees below the amount announced annually by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and receive tax benefits such as property tax reductions on the condition that they use the standard terms and conditions. Last year's survey examined whether the standard terms and conditions were being properly observed, particularly regarding penalty charges for reservation cancellations and refund clauses for service interruptions, which are frequent sources of consumer complaints.

The standard terms and conditions stipulate that penalty charges for golf course reservation cancellations are applied differently depending on whether the cancellation is made on a weekend or a weekday, and on how many days in advance the cancellation occurs (from 1 to 4 days prior to the scheduled date). Refund standards also vary depending on the reason for service interruption, such as personal circumstances or natural disasters.

However, the survey found that 31.3% (111) of the 355 public golf courses nationwide were applying terms and conditions less favorable to consumers than the standard terms. In particular, 16.6% (59 courses) imposed excessive penalty charges when reservations were canceled for personal reasons, making this the most common issue. The next most frequent issue was insufficient refunds in cases where service was unavoidably interrupted due to heavy snow, rain, or fog, which occurred at 12.1% (43 courses).

To address these issues, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Consumer Agency issued a first round of improvement recommendations in September last year, prompting 99 golf courses to make corrections. Subsequently, a second round of recommendations was issued in February this year for the remaining 12 courses, resulting in all 111 courses ultimately revising their terms to comply with the standard terms and conditions.

A policy official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "The ministry will continue to monitor compliance with the standard terms and conditions at public golf courses in cooperation with the Korea Consumer Agency and local governments. We also plan to check how entrance fees, cart fees, and ancillary service charges are displayed," adding, "Going forward, we will strengthen policy efforts to guarantee reasonable choices and improve convenience for golf course users."