2026.10.16. The Fair Economy — The Fair Trade Commission has begun procedures to impose fines on 17 wedding service providers that failed to properly display prices and penalty standards. They were found to have omitted prices for optional items on their websites or contract covers, or failed to display important information for each affiliated business.
On the 16th, the FTC individually issued prior notices of administrative fines to the 17 businesses, and plans to finalize and impose the fine amounts by the end of October.
Since August, the FTC has conducted intensive inspections of wedding hall operators and wedding planning agencies to check compliance with the key information disclosure requirements, and confirmed violations as a result.
The inspection checked whether the businesses displayed detailed information and fees for basic services and optional items, as well as cancellation penalties and refund standards, on either their website or the Korea Consumer Agency's 'True Price' site, and on the contract cover.
Under the administrative fine imposition procedure, the Fair Trade Commission will grant a period for submitting opinions (at least 10 days) before finalizing the fine, and businesses may raise objections.
The measure is significant in that it cracks down on opaque price displays and additional charge demands that have been customary in the wedding service market since the grace period for the important information notice ended, and ensures reasonable choice for prospective couples.
The FTC plans to continuously monitor compliance with the key information disclosure requirement in the wedding service sector to promote quality and price competition among businesses and ease the financial burden on engaged couples.
The key information disclosure requirement for the wedding service industry was revised and took effect on November 12 last year. The FTC made it mandatory for wedding hall operators and wedding planning agencies (covering studio, dress, and makeup services) to disclose, on their own website or the Korea Consumer Agency's 'Chamgagyeok' (Reference Price) site and on contract covers, detailed information and fees for each item of basic services and optional items, as well as penalty fees and refund standards for contract cancellation. The measure was intended to improve the practice of opaque price disclosure and demands for additional charges in the wedding service market. After a six-month grace period, the disclosure requirement was fully implemented in May this year.
Even after the grace period ended, the rate of price disclosure remained low. According to data received by the office of Kang Jun-hyeon, a lawmaker of The Minjoo Party of Korea on the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, from the FTC and the Korea Consumer Agency, as of September 16, a total of 337 businesses had disclosed prices on 'True Price': 267 wedding halls and 70 wedding planning agencies. This is only 28.1% of the approximately 1,200 businesses estimated by the FTC (700 wedding halls and 500 wedding planning agencies). Regarding the total number of businesses including those that disclosed on their own websites, the FTC said it is "monitoring and investigating" and did not provide exact figures.
Consumer harm from the failure to disclose prices in the wedding service industry has continued. According to the Korea Consumer Agency, 1372 consumer counseling cases related to wedding services and wedding planning services rose 53.4%, from 3,573 in 2024 to 5,480 last year. Over the same period, applications for damage relief rose 18.9%, from 905 to 1,076 cases, and requests for dispute mediation rose 40.8%, from 272 to 383 cases.
During the peak wedding season of April and May, cases surged 56.0% year on year. The vast majority of reported damages (88.1%) involved disputes over 'contract cancellation, penalty fees, and withdrawal of subscription.' The main cause was identified as 'blind contracts,' in which consumers signed agreements without being adequately informed in advance of detailed prices, additional costs, or penalty fee standards.
On April 22, the FTC, together with the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy and the Korea Consumer Agency, issued a 'wedding service consumer damage prevention alert.' The authorities recommended that prospective couples first compare prices by region and item costs on the consumer agency's 'True Price' website before signing contracts, and advised them to prioritize companies using the FTC's standard terms and conditions. They also cautioned against exaggerated advertisements without objective basis, such as 'lowest price guarantee' or 'No. 1 in Korea.'
The list of the 17 businesses caught this time has not yet been disclosed. Industry observers believe that, given the violation types focused on omitting optional item prices and failing to display partner information, many wedding halls and studio-dress-makeup (studio, dress, makeup) providers are likely included.
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