【 Anchor 】

Brides- and grooms-to-be should be happier than anyone as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives: the wedding.
Yet many reportedly end up suffering in silence after paying enormous sums, only to receive service that contradicts what was promised before signing.
Online communities for engaged couples are flooded with reports of abusive treatment by vendors, so caution appears warranted.
Reporter Yang Mi-jeong reports.


【 Reporter 】
With the easing of COVID-19 quarantine rules, the wedding industry is showing signs of recovery.

But chronic patterns of harm, such as excessive billing, continue, and caution is required.

Vendors that touted all sorts of perks before the contract turn around after signing to demand excessive deposits and pile surcharge upon surcharge.

Cases in which vendors unilaterally cancel the contract and refuse to return the deposit are also extremely common.

Engaged couples say vendors are adding to their burden with heavy-handed pressure that goes beyond what anyone could accept.

▶ Interview (☎): Official at Wedding Hall A
- "The terms have changed from when you signed. The meal is 10,000 won per person. Back then we said the venue fee was free, but now, because of the remodeling, it's going to go up by about 1 million won. A full refund is obviously difficult. Honestly, it's the same anywhere else. Let's just proceed in good spirits."

As such cases mount, victims have taken to sharing information directly through online cafes.

Beyond unilaterally canceling contracts or pressuring customers to write positive reviews, there were cases of vendors threatening customers for leaving a complaint.

There were also a considerable number of cases in which vendors harassed customers with legal action for defamation and the like.

Engaged couples lamented that wedding preparations, which should be the happiest of times, became a nightmare they would rather not even remember.

Some vendors have set out to restore trust on their own.

But with weddings postponed by the pandemic piling up this year, consumer harm in the wedding industry is expected to grow further.

▶ Interview (☎): Shin Dong-woo / Attorney
- "Unless a wedding vendor customer's legitimate review meets the elements of defamation under the Criminal Act, it is not easy to take issue with it. Where a wedding vendor unjustly terminates a contract, the customer can claim compensation for the deposit and, depending on the circumstances, consolation money as well. The Fair Trade Commission needs to periodically revise the consumer dispute resolution standards and standard terms and conditions for the wedding industry, and continuous supervision is needed so that wedding vendors comply with them."

Because consumers cannot accumulate sufficient experience in the wedding market, they are placed in an environment where rational consumption is difficult.

Critics point out that careful attention from both the industry and regulators is needed so that a wedding, which should be celebrated amid blessings and happiness, is not remembered as a nightmare.