On April 29, the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) reported that over the past three years, they received 1,228 complaints related to photo shoots — with cases rising annually from 312 in 2022 to 472 in 2023. From January to March 2025 alone, 115 cases have already been filed.
Out of these, 182 cases (14.8%) specifically involved “free photo shoot” promotions.
- 75.3% of those cases (137) involved issues with canceling contracts and refund refusals.
- 10.4% involved contract breaches, and
- 6.0% related to unfair practices.
In many instances, consumers were denied refunds after canceling bookings or were forced to buy additional, costly products like albums, framed photos, or original photo files.
When examining confirmed contract amounts from 172 cases:
- 43.6% involved deals under 100,000 KRW (~$75),
- 36.0% involved contracts exceeding 1 million KRW (~$750), and
- 11.1% were between 500,000 and 1 million KRW (~$375–750).
Shockingly, despite being marketed as “free,” 47.1% of cases involved contracts worth over 500,000 KRW, with the average contract amount being around 750,000 KRW (~$560).
To combat these practices, the KCA announced plans to urge businesses with high complaint rates to clearly disclose additional charges for items like original files, albums, and frames in advance.
They also advised consumers to:
- Confirm any potential costs and contract terms before making a reservation,
- Request written confirmation of any extra charges before shooting, and
- Keep reservation messages and contracts as evidence in case of disputes.
As photo shoot-related complaints continue to rise, both businesses and consumers must work together to foster a fairer, more trustworthy market environment.
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