Police have launched an investigation into lodging businesses in Busan accused of canceling existing reservations and relisting rooms at higher prices ahead of the BTS concert in Busan.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency's anti-corruption and economic crime unit on the 2nd, police are investigating some lodging businesses in Busan on suspicion of fraud. Police are first looking into one or two properties where they have secured victim statements from customers.
One lodging business is suspected of inducing existing customers to cancel their reservations by saying there was an "overbooking" ahead of the "BTS World Tour Arirang in Busan" concert on the 12th-13th in Busan, then relisting the same rooms at higher prices. One customer reportedly told police that they had booked a room in the 90,000-won range in Jan., but received a cancellation request from the business about four months later. Afterward, the customer said they confirmed the same room was being sold on an online lodging platform at about eight times the original price.
Police believe fraud charges could apply if the business falsely explained the reason for cancellation, causing customers harm while seeking financial gain. The focus of the investigation is whether the cancellations were due to actual overbooking or were made to hike prices and resell.
On social media (SNS), posts have also appeared saying existing lodging reservations were unilaterally canceled after the BTS concert schedule was announced. One user posted that "a room reserved months ago for 100,000 won was canceled due to double booking, and a few hours later it was relisted for 1.5 million won."
Police plan to expand the investigation, believing there may be more similar cases. They will also review reports transferred from the Korea Tourism Organization's tourist inconvenience reporting center to see if other lodging businesses used the same cancellation-and-resale tactic.
Police also note that about 80% of those who reported price-gouging by lodging businesses to the tourist inconvenience reporting center from Jan. to May this year were foreigners. Police believe there may be unreported cases among foreigners due to language barriers, short stays, and limited understanding of domestic laws and systems.
BTS members also mentioned the surge in lodging prices. Leader RM said on the Weverse live broadcast on the 26th after the "American Music Awards," "There's a lot of news about lodging issues in Busan," and added, "Even if we want to fix it, there's nothing we can do." He then said to Busan lodging operators, "Let's keep it reasonable. Seriously." Jimin, who is from Busan, also said he hoped fans would leave Busan with only good memories.
Busan is also seeing the spread of a "fair lodging challenge" that offers accommodations for free or at fair prices. According to the city of Busan, local temples such as Beomeosa, Hongbeopsa, and Seonamsa, as well as churches, cathedrals, universities, and public institutions, have agreed to provide lodging. The participating rooms number over 100 and can accommodate more than 400 people. Many are free, and the maximum fee is about 131,000 won.
The government and related agencies also responded. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 29th last month that, ahead of the BTS concert in Busan, it would conduct a joint special inspection for lodging price-gouging with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Tax Service, the Korea Fair Trade Commission, the Korean National Police Agency, and the city of Busan. The inspections are being carried out three times in total on the 29th last month and the 8th-9th this month. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), together with the city of Busan, Busanjin District, the Busan Tourism Association, and the Busan chapter of the Korea Motel Association, will hold a public-private joint campaign on tourism readiness on the 8th in the Seomyeon area of Busan.
President Lee Jae-myung also raised the issue on the 27th last month at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO). Lee said Busan's image is being damaged by the lodging price-gouging controversy ahead of the BTS concert and noted that improvements are needed.
Busan's lodging price-gouging controversy is not new. Ahead of the BTS concert to support Busan's bid for the 2022 World Expo, claims also spread online that some lodging businesses canceled existing reservations and then relisted rooms at sharply higher prices.