A bill aimed at curbing price gouging and unauthorized seat-fee demands at beaches has been submitted to the National Assembly. Its core provisions require that fees for summer leisure goods, set by local government ordinances, be posted mandatorily, and allow fines to be imposed when charges exceed those fees or when money is demanded without legal authority.
Rep. Yoon Jun-byung of the Democratic Party of Korea, the ruling party's secretary on the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, on the 20th proposed as lead sponsor an amendment to the Act on the Use and Management of Beaches containing these provisions.
Current law prohibits operating a business at a beach without permission from the managing authority, operating outside designated locations, and acts by summer goods rental operators that obstruct visitors from setting up their own parasols or beach beds. However, concerns have been raised that there is insufficient legal basis to directly sanction demands for seat fees without legal authority or the collection of fees exceeding local ordinance standards.
The amendment makes it mandatory for trustees managing and operating beaches to post fees for summer leisure goods and facilities, set by ordinance, in locations where visitors can easily check them. It also explicitly designates as prohibited acts the collection or demand of fees exceeding ordinance standards, as well as demands for money without legal authority on the grounds of facility use or the installation of summer leisure goods.
The bill allows the managing authority to revoke the trust designation of trustees who engage in price gouging or unauthorized money demands, and grants officials the authority to enter business premises and rental facilities to investigate and inspect ledgers and documents. It also establishes a basis for imposing fines on violations.
"Charging inflated prices disrupts the comfortable rest of the people and is a chronic ill that threatens the entire local tourism ecosystem," Yoon said. "I will continue to do my best to create a beach environment that anyone can use with peace of mind."
