"Joo Jinwoo and Yoo Sangbeom Should Apologize"
Shilla Hotel to Cover Full Wedding Costs for Engaged Couples
Amid allegations that the South Korean government asked Shilla Hotel to cancel pre-booked wedding schedules to accommodate foreign leaders attending the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit, the Democratic Party of Korea has refuted the claims, stating, "This is not true."
On the 24th, Park Suhyeon, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, met with reporters after the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly and clarified, "Let me state clearly that our government has never requested the hotel to cancel any weddings." He further demanded an apology, saying, "Assemblymen Joo Jinwoo and Yoo Sangbeom should have verified these basic facts with the government before making such statements."
According to industry sources, Seoul Shilla Hotel recently notified some customers with weddings scheduled for November that "due to a national event planned for early November, we are unavoidably informing you of a reservation change," effectively canceling their wedding dates. The hotel's explanation was that the pre-signed contracts included a clause allowing cancellations in the event of government events, so there would be no compensation or penalty fees, but individual consultations were ongoing as a matter of ethical responsibility.
It has been reported that Shilla Hotel decided to reschedule the weddings to the dates preferred by the affected customers and cover the full cost of the wedding, including meal and facility fees. Since the hotel is bearing the entire cost, amounting to approximately 160 million won, which is highly unusual, some interpret this as a bold decision to protect the brand's value and maintain trust with customers.
Joo Jinwoo, a member of the People Power Party, is conducting a filibuster (a legal parliamentary procedure to obstruct proceedings through unlimited debate) opposing the 'Stronger' amendment to the Commercial Act at the National Assembly plenary session on the 25th of last month. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
Upon reports that these measures were related to the APEC Summit, Assemblyman Joo Jinwoo criticized the situation, stating, "This is something that should never happen in a liberal democracy." He said, "The government pressured the hotel to cancel weddings that were booked a year in advance. Such an incident is unimaginable in a liberal democratic country. If you value your own children, you should also value the children of others."
He continued, "The President's son had a lavish wedding with a flood of guests. Does this mean that ordinary citizens must forfeit their reserved wedding venues to the government at a single word? No matter how important an international event may be, it cannot infringe upon the happiness and rights of the people. The government should apologize to the public and rectify this situation."
Assemblyman Yoo Sangbeom also wrote on Facebook, "The incident in which Shilla Hotel canceled numerous long-standing wedding reservations all at once to accommodate Chinese President Xi Jinping is not merely a matter of hotel operations," and argued, "It is a case where the South Korean government directly intervened, disregarding the rights and daily lives of its citizens."
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