Visitors navigate a crowded pedestrian thoroughfare in Seoul's Myeong-dong shopping district, May. 1. Yonhap
The National Assembly passed a sweeping amendment to the Tourism Promotion Act, in an effort to sanitize a tourism industry long plagued by predatory "dumping" practices and the disappearance of travelers into the underground labor market.
The legislation, announced Friday by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, targets the country’s "designated travel agencies" — firms specifically licensed to handle large-scale tour groups from countries with which Korea maintains bilateral tourism agreements. For years, the sector has been haunted by so-called "zero-dollar tours," where agencies lure travelers with impossibly cheap packages, only to recoup losses by forcing visitors into aggressive shopping excursions at designated boutiques.
Under the new law, such coercive tactics are now strictly forbidden. The amendment explicitly bans agencies from taking excessive commissions from shops or using those kickbacks to pay the wages of tour guides — a practice that often led guides to harass tourists into making purchases. Agencies found in violation face a suspension of operations for up to six months or the total revocation of their licenses.
"We will use this amendment as an opportunity to establish order and foster a high-quality market for group tours," said Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young.
The law also addresses the thorny issue of "runaway" tourists. Agencies will now be held legally accountable if their clients desert their tour groups to pursue job opportunities in Korea as undocumented workers. While the ministry will consider factors such as the total number of escapees and the specific reasons for the desertion, agencies with high "runaway rates" will face administrative penalties.
To bolster oversight, the bill establishes a framework for interagency cooperation, allowing the tourism ministry to work alongside other government branches to monitor the industry more effectively.
The new regulations are scheduled to take effect six months after their official promulgation. For a nation currently seeing its regional travel numbers climb toward record highs, the move signals a shift in priority from simply counting heads to ensuring that those who arrive are treated as guests, not as captive consumers.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
