Park Sung-hyeok, president of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), said on the 2nd, "Canceling existing reservations because of a BTS concert and taking room bookings at higher prices is clearly price gouging," and added, "We will consider marketing solutions such as letting tourists know about nearby accommodations."
Park made the comment at a press briefing held at the Press Center on Sejong-daero in Seoul that day in response to a question about the "price gouging controversy at accommodations near the BTS concert venue."
According to the lodging industry, some accommodations in the Busan area, where a BTS concert is scheduled, have raised their rates more than tenfold compared with usual. One hotel even demanded an additional 400,000 won from a customer who had booked at 150,000 won. On this, President Lee Jae-myung said on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Dec. 16, "It is a vicious abuse that destroys the order of the entire market and causes great harm to everyone," adding, "It must be eradicated."
On this, Park said, "First, we need to define the concept of 'gouging' in relation to hotel rates," adding, "Overseas, a hotel that usually costs $300 can go up to $2,000 during an event. Can we call that gouging?"
He went on, "Foreign hotels have a solution called 'dynamic pricing,' where prices are set by supply and demand. If there is a lot of demand, prices rise," adding, "Not only hotels but restaurants also sometimes charge different rates during exhibition periods. It is hard to define price adjustments based on supply and demand as gouging."
Even so, he emphasized, "Unilaterally canceling a product sold at 300,000 won and selling it for 1.5 million won is clearly gouging."
As for solutions, he said, "The organization has no authority to issue administrative orders. All we can do is recommend that local governments correct the situation," adding, "We should consider marketing-based approaches." Specifically, he said, "Solutions to promote nearby accommodations and preparing transportation to and from tourist sites," and added, "This event was initiated first by the BTS side, so there were parts that were not controlled. Going forward, when hosting events, we should address anticipated lodging and transportation issues in advance."