A plan is underway to allow golf course users to pay the service expense given to caddies (caddie, 경기보조원), the so-called "caddie fee," by credit card, bank transfer, or easy payment.
In Korea, it has been customary to pay the caddie fee in cash, but the Korea Fair Trade Commission has begun work to revise the standard terms and conditions to diversify payment methods.
According to the National Assembly and golf industry reporting on the 25th, the Korea Fair Trade Commission finished gathering opinions from consumer groups and related agencies by the end of last month. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) plans to submit a revision to the "golf course use standard terms and conditions" to the terms review committee as early as late September.
The annual caddie fee market in Korea is estimated at 1.78 trillion won to 2 trillion won. This estimate is calculated based on the annual number of visitors to golf courses and the caddie fee per round, surveyed through the Korea Golf Course Business Association and the Korea Golf Consumer Agency.
Unlike other payment methods for course fees, cart fees, and food and beverage charges, the caddie fee has become entrenched as a cash-only practice.
However, as golf has gone mainstream, calls have grown to improve payment methods. People Power Party lawmaker Park Jeong-hun, who is the lead sponsor of an amendment to the Sports Facilities Act, and the consumer group Korea Consumer Association asked the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to revise the standard terms and conditions to guarantee the right to choose caddie fee payment methods.
A survey also found that 9 out of 10 consumers agree with changing the system. A survey by Kyungpook National University Professor Park Gi-deuk and the Caddie Research Institute of 1,025 adult golfers who had played with a caddie within the past year found that 94% said the current caddie fee payment method "is in great need of improvement." Including the 5.1% who said it "should be improved," 99.1% pointed to the need for change. In their most recent round, 96.7% said they paid the caddie fee only in cash.
◇ Cash-only caddie fee practice limits income tracking
There is also a view that diversifying caddie fee payment methods will help improve transparency in income reporting. The issue of caddie income falling into a tax blind spot has been repeatedly raised during the National Assembly's audits.
In the 2023 audit, the reduction of caddie income taxes was put under scrutiny. It turned out that 3,388 caddies filed their 2021 comprehensive income tax returns, with reported revenue totaling 23.002 billion won. At the time, the number of caddies nationwide was estimated at about 35,000, and the National Assembly noted that the number of filers was far smaller than the number actually working. There was also an estimate that as of 2023, the average annual salary per caddie was about 55 million won.
In the 2024 audit, some argued that issuing cash receipts should be mandatory to improve the practice of cash-only caddie fee payments. The National Tax Service then said it would review the idea in terms of fairness in taxes. Afterward, as the National Tax Service strengthened its filing guidance, caddies' comprehensive income tax filings increased. As of early September 2024, the number of filings stood at 32,754, up 260% from the previous year.
However, a business operator familiar with the caddie industry said, "Cash receipts still are not issued well, so gaps remain," adding, "There is also a widespread perception that golf courses fail to report caddie income or underreport wages."
In this situation, if caddie fee payment methods are expanded to cards and bank transfers, records of the transaction will remain, increasing the data available to identify caddies' actual revenue and helping improve tax transparency.
The industry is watching to see whether payment methods will be diversified ahead of the golf peak season starting in September.
During the opinion-gathering process on the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s revision of the standard terms and conditions, business operators were found to have little opposition to diversifying caddie fee payment methods themselves. Potential pushback from caddies worried about increased tax burdens is seen as a variable.
This revision of the standard terms and conditions is seen as the first step in improving the system by changing golf course usage practices.
The amendment to the Sports Facilities Act led by lawmaker Park Jeong-hun includes system improvements related to golf course use, such as the right to choose whether to use carts and caddies, bringing in outside food, and reservation cancellation penalties, and will be pursued through separate revision procedures.
Park emphasized, "It is necessary to expand the choices available to golf course users and improve unreasonable usage practices."