"Despite Fair Trade Commission's Crackdown on 'Sdeume', Only 5 Wedding Halls Disclose Prices, 0 Sdeume Agencies"

Only Nine Businesses Encouraged to Use Standard Contract
Kwon Hyangyeop: "Unfair Contracts Exploiting Newlyweds Must Be Addressed"

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Fair Trade Commission) revised relevant notifications to improve unfair contract practices in the wedding industry. However, it has been revealed that not a single wedding planning agency has posted its prices on "Chamgagyeok," a price information portal operated by the Korea Consumer Agency.

According to data submitted by Hyangyeop Kwon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Suncheon, Gwangyang, Gokseong, Gurye in South Jeolla Province), only five wedding hall businesses have disclosed their prices on "Chamgagyeok."

Hyangyeop Kwon, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker.

On November 12 of last year, the Fair Trade Commission revised the "Important Indications and Advertisements Notification," making it mandatory for wedding hall businesses and so-called "Sdeume" (studio, dress, makeup) wedding planning agencies to disclose price information.

The notification allows the Fair Trade Commission to impose fines of up to 100 million won for violations of price display requirements, prompting some to say that the Commission has taken a strong stance against unfair contract practices in the wedding industry. However, even two months after implementation, not a single "Sdeume" business has displayed its prices, leading to criticism that the system improvement is, in effect, meaningless.

In response, the Fair Trade Commission explained to the lawmaker's office, "We are currently focusing on education and publicity for business operators, as this is the initial guidance period for the price display system," adding, "Starting in February this year, we will monitor compliance with price display requirements, closely examine on-site implementation, and actively encourage voluntary correction in cases of non-compliance."

The Fair Trade Commission also stated, "After the guidance period, we will investigate non-compliant businesses and impose fines in accordance with regulations." The guidance period lasts for six months, from the revision of the notification in November last year to May this year.

Additionally, although the Fair Trade Commission established a "Standard Contract for Wedding Planning Agencies" in March last year, only nine businesses received official documents encouraging the use of the contract. Since adoption is not legally mandatory, questions have been raised about its effectiveness. In response to a request for data on the adoption status of the contract, the Fair Trade Commission replied, "Since it is not mandatory, we are not separately investigating whether businesses have adopted the standard terms and conditions."

Meanwhile, an analysis by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission of complaints related to the wedding industry collected through its civil complaint analysis system in July last year showed that there were 1,010 consumer damage complaints over the past three years (from April 2021 to March 2024), with the number increasing steadily each year. According to data submitted by Hyangyeop Kwon, complaints related to wedding hall businesses accounted for the largest share at 514 cases (50.9%), followed by wedding planning agencies with 144 cases (14.3%).

Regardless of business type, the most common complaint topics were "contract cancellation" and "contract non-fulfillment," which together accounted for 68.3% of all cases.

Hyangyeop Kwon emphasized, "Unfair contract practices that exploit newlyweds by taking advantage of the fact that most people only experience this market once in their lives continue to persist," adding, "There is a need for institutional improvement through legislation to address the wedding industry's consistent 'ignore' strategy toward the Fair Trade Commission's price display system."