The National Human Rights Commission determined that a Spa Land charged a towel lending fee only to female customers, deeming it a discriminatory act.
The Discrimination Correction Committee of the Human Rights Commission stated on the 2nd that A Spa Land in North Gyeongsang Province charged female customers a towel lending fee of 500 won per towel, which they deemed a discriminatory act violating the right to equality. The commission recommended that the mayor of the jurisdiction provide administrative guidance to A Spa Land.
According to the Human Rights Commission, the entrance fee for A Spa Land is 9,000 won. Male customers could borrow two towels for free just by paying the entrance fee, while female customers were charged an additional 1,000 won as a towel lending fee for two towels. One customer who visited A Spa Land in March last year filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, claiming gender discrimination.
A Spa Land also received civil complaints through the National Petition Center in April of the same year. A Spa Land officials explained that when a public official came for an on-site inspection, they noted that "female patrons raised issues regarding the hygiene of the towels, and it was determined that using personal towels was the correct approach." They added, "We are unfortunately charging a usage fee of 500 won per towel due to a high rate of towel loss."
The jurisdictional local government judged that there are no regulations on pricing in the Public Health Management Act, and therefore lacks grounds to sanction charging different prices for towel provision to male and female customers. This local government administratively guided A Spa Land to specify in their price list that "towels are not provided to female customers."
According to this local government, among the 36 bathhouses operating in the region, 11 of them charge female customers a fee ranging from 200 to 500 won per towel.
However, the Human Rights Commission stated, "The loss or contamination of towels is due to individual actions, and applying uniform unfavorable conditions to an entire gender raises concerns of generalization based on gender stereotypes."
They added, "Issues related to towel loss or expenses due to additional usage can be resolved by strengthening the return system or charging fees individually for additional usage."
They stated that local governments that did not take corrective actions after receiving related complaints should not neglect enforcing gender-discriminatory charges just because they have no direct correction authority over pricing.