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Busan Metropolitan City to Conduct Joint Inspection to Crack Down on Excessive Accommodation Charges Ahead of “BTS World Tour Arirang IN Busan” Concert

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-duk, announced that it will launch joint inspections involving relevant departments to prevent excessive accommodation charges ahead of the “BTS World Tour Arirang IN Busan” concerts scheduled for June 12 and 13.

◯ This joint inspection is a follow-up measure to the “BTS World Tour Arirang IN Busan Concert Issues Meeting” held in April. The initiative is intended to actively respond to unfair trade practices such as excessive accommodation charges that undermine the city’s image and tourism competitiveness, while encouraging reasonable pricing to provide a stable tourism environment for both domestic and international visitors traveling to Busan.

□ The inspections will focus intensively on violations of relevant laws, including the Public Health Control Act, while also providing guidance regarding unfair trade practices such as excessive accommodation charges.

◯ Accommodation businesses reported through tourism complaint channels for excessive pricing will be the primary inspection targets. To comprehensively strengthen tourism readiness ahead of the concerts, including eradicating excessive pricing and taking strict measures against businesses engaged in illegal practices, the inspections will be jointly conducted by relevant departments and organizations, including the Health and Sanitation Division, Tourism MICE Industry Division, Special Judicial Police Division, Fair Trade Commission, Korea Consumer Agency, Fire and Disaster Headquarters, and district and county offices.

◯ Major inspection items include violations of relevant regulations such as operating unregistered lodging businesses, failing to display room rates at reception desks, non-compliance with posted rates, and fire prevention requirements, as well as investigations into reported consumer damage cases. If necessary, the City also plans to cooperate with the National Tax Service to further examine tax-related illegal activities involving businesses reported for excessive pricing.

◯ In addition, the City will intensively provide guidance on unfair trade practices that undermine the establishment of a fair and transparent accommodation reservation culture, such as excessive pricing and unjustified unilateral reservation cancellations. The City will also promote voluntary participation by the industry through guidance on the government’s “Advance Self-Reporting Accommodation Pricing System,” scheduled for introduction in 2026, as well as through the “Fair Tourism Campaign” to be held at Haeundae Beach at 2 p.m. today (May 13).

□ Meanwhile, Busan Metropolitan City is operating public lodging facilities and carrying out special tourism readiness inspections at key gateways and major tourist destinations throughout the region to help stabilize accommodation prices.

◯ From June 11 to 13, the City plans to accommodate approximately 400 foreign tourists by utilizing Geumnyeonsan and Gudeok Youth Training Centers at a rate of KRW 10,350 per person per night, as well as Naewonjeongsa Temple Stay programs at KRW 80,500 per person per night, including dinner, breakfast, and temple experience programs.

◯ In addition, the City has designated the period from April through June as a special tourism readiness inspection period. During this time, the Tourism Monitoring Inspection Team and relevant departments from all 16 districts and counties are participating in inspections and improvement measures covering the overall visitor environment at major tourist destinations, including guidance systems and facility management conditions.

◯ Furthermore, the Busan Tourism Organization plans to hold a tourism readiness inspection and hospitality campaign at Busan Station Plaza at 10:30 a.m. today (May 13) in celebration of the early achievement of 1 million foreign tourists visiting Busan.

□ Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-duk stated, “At a time when the world’s attention is focused on Busan ahead of the BTS concert, unfair trade practices such as excessive pricing betray the trust of visitors and damage the overall image of the city.” He added, “Through joint inspections and the operation of public lodging facilities, we will create an environment where domestic and international visitors can stay comfortably at reasonable prices and demonstrate the qualities of Busan as a world-class tourism city.”