Ahead of the BTS concert in Busan, tourism complaint reports filed in Busan in May rose to 77% of last year's annual total. More than 80% of complainants were foreigners, and grievances centered on unilateral reservation cancellations by lodging businesses and excessive penalty charges.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Korea Tourism Datalab on the 10th, of the 368 tourism complaint reports filed nationwide in May, 185 came from Busan. That was 50.3% of all reports, with the single region of Busan logging more reports than the rest of the country combined excluding Busan.
Last month's reports from Busan amounted to 77.4% of the 239 tourism complaint reports filed in Busan for all of last year. Busan has been categorized as a region with a high share of tourism complaints even during the endemic period of 2022–2023, when quarantine and daily life began normalizing after the COVID-19 pandemic, but it showed an unusual increase ahead of the BTS concert. The figures were 19.8% in 2022, 13.4% in 2023, 11.9% in 2024, and 13.7% last year. This year, Busan's tourism complaints fell from 148 in January to 49 in February and 38 in March, then inched up to 48 in April. They then surged to 185 in May, one month before the BTS concert.
Most complaints were related to lodging. Among the reports filed in Busan last month, the "general lodging" category was the largest with 133 cases. The main issues were unilateral reservation cancellations and excessive penalty charges. There were also 21 hotel-related reports, including reservation cancellations and poor service or hygiene. Lodging-related reports combining general lodging and hotels totaled 154, accounting for more than 80% of all reports in Busan.
There were nine cases in the airport and aviation category and seven involving taxis. Taxi complaints included refusal to use the meter and reckless driving. Foreigners accounted for 83.8% of complainants, far outnumbering Koreans at 16.2%. As demand from overseas fans traveling to Busan to see the BTS concert increased, lodging and transportation inconveniences appeared to concentrate among foreign tourists.
BTS will hold the "BTS World Tour Arirang IN Busan" concert in Busan on the 12th and 13th. It will be BTS's first concert in Busan since the Oct. 2022 concert supporting the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo. After the schedule was announced, complaints mounted in Busan that some lodging businesses canceled existing reservations or sharply raised room rates.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) in February surveyed lodging rates at 135 accommodations in Busan for the BTS concert period. The survey found the average lodging rate during the concert week was 2.4 times higher than on the surrounding weekends, and at individual properties, increases of up to 7.5 times were found. By lodging type, motels saw the largest jump. Motel rates during concert week rose to 3.3 times normal levels, hotels 2.9 times, and pensions 1.2 times.
More recently, a Japanese tourist who is a BTS fan said the person asked a Busan lodging business to confirm a reservation but received an abusive response and then had the reservation canceled, a claim that spread through online communities and social media (SNS).
Police are investigating allegations involving lodging businesses. The anti-corruption and economic crime investigation unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency is looking into some Busan lodging businesses on suspicion of fraud for allegedly canceling existing reservations and then reselling the same rooms at higher prices. The crux of the probe is whether the cancellations were truly due to overbooking or intended to raise prices for resale.
Government agencies and the Busan city government have also moved to respond. Ahead of the concert, the government conducted a joint special inspection targeting price gouging by lodging businesses, and Busan is strengthening guidance and enforcement targeting lodging businesses and public transportation operators. Authorities are also pursuing stronger compensation standards when existing lodging reservations are unilaterally canceled for the purpose of price hikes or resale.
Management around the concert venue will also be tightened. The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency plans to deploy dedicated enforcement and inspection teams around the venue during the concert period to crack down on scalping transactions. Reselling tickets on-site for a premium can be punished as ticket scalping under the Minor Offenses Punishment Act, and buying tickets using macros and then reselling them may constitute a violation of the Public Performance Act.
Busan city and related agencies will also implement transportation and safety measures. Plans are underway to extend subway operating hours and run additional trains during the concert period, and additional safety personnel will be deployed at stations near the venue. Some religious facilities, universities, and public institutions are also moving to provide lodging free of charge or at fair prices.