On the 25th, the government announced measures to eradicate overcharging at the National Tourism Strategy Meeting. These measures are aimed at resolving the surge in accommodation prices ahead of the BTS concert, and if overcharging is detected at restaurants or lodging establishments, their business operations will be immediately suspended. In particular, a prior price reporting system will be introduced for lodging facilities.

The core of this measure is to significantly increase the level of sanctions against consumer deception. Strong penalties will follow if prices are not displayed, falsely displayed, or if the displayed prices are not adhered to. Currently, violations of price display result only in correction orders or warnings, but from now on, business suspension will be enforced immediately upon the first detection.

To enhance price transparency, lodging facilities will have strengthened obligations to post and comply with prices. Related regulations will be newly established for guesthouses and foreigner urban lodging businesses, which previously had no price posting obligations. Rural lodging businesses will also be required to post prices. To prevent repeated surges in accommodation prices during peak seasons and large-scale events, lodging providers must autonomously set price ceilings for off-peak, peak, and special event periods and report and disclose them in advance.

The prices reported by lodging providers must be submitted to local governments once a year in advance and disclosed. If prices exceeding the reported rates are charged or if reporting is not done at all, administrative sanctions such as business suspension will be imposed. Unilateral cancellations of lodging reservations aimed at raising prices will also be subject to sanctions. If a reservation is canceled without justifiable reason, business suspension will be imposed, equivalent to cases of price non-disclosure or false display. Standards for deposit refunds and compensation for consumer damages will be established.

Sanctions will also be strengthened in the transportation sector. Taxis charging unfair fares will face immediate license suspension instead of warnings. To improve the rental car price reporting system in Jeju Island, a maximum discount rate regulation will be introduced to reduce the price gap between off-peak and peak seasons to an appropriate level. Unfair taxi fares charged to foreigners will also be subject to immediate license suspension upon detection.

Stores that receive administrative sanctions related to overcharging in local commercial districts will face disadvantages such as cancellation of registration as merchants for Onnuri gift certificates and local love gift certificates. Local governments with excellent price management will receive financial incentives of 33 billion won this year, including special accounts for regional balanced development and comprehensive subsidies.

This measure is planned to be implemented within the year after completing legal amendments in the first half of the year and revising enforcement ordinances and rules. However, since legislative procedures are required, these measures are not expected to be immediately applied to accommodation issues related to the BTS concert to be held in Busan in June. Kang Ki-ryong, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, stated, "We will supplement the gap through legislation as soon as possible," and added, "We plan to find autonomous methods between local governments and regional platform companies and open lodging facilities or public recreational facilities during event periods to solve supply shortages."

According to the Tourism Inconvenience Reporting Center, there were 213 reports related to overcharging from November last year to January this year, an increase of 155 compared to the same period the previous year. This measure is based on the judgment that excessive pricing by lodging providers is causing damage to tourists and harming the national image.

Through these measures, the government aims to increase price transparency in the tourism industry and strengthen consumer protection.