'Book Without Worry!' But What About Cancellations? The Long Road to Refunds

In May, a consumer booked a flight from Seoul to Tokyo, Japan, through the online travel platform Agoda.

The next day, the consumer attempted to cancel the reservation due to personal reasons, but received a response from Agoda stating that the booking was non-refundable.

[Victim: They told me that according to their refund policy, a refund is not possible. When I called the airline, they said they do not have any cases where refunds are impossible.]

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC), which launched an investigation into the matter, determined that Agoda had effectively hidden refund information on its website.

The notice stating that "cancellations and changes are difficult" only appears after clicking on the "Baggage Allowance Policy" menu, which seems unrelated to refunds.

In the hotel reservation process, the imposition of fees was not properly disclosed.

For "pay later" options, an additional fee of up to 5% is applied, but this information was written in small print and was not reflected in the current price displayed.

The KCC also pointed out that Agoda's promotional slogan, "Book without worry," was inappropriate.

The KCC, which has been conducting a fact-finding investigation since September 2024, imposed a fine of 2.424 billion won on Agoda for these practices.

[Kim Mi-jung / Director of Broadcasting Market Investigation Division, Korea Communications Commission: We determined that they violated the Telecommunications Business Act because they did not properly notify users of matters that are very important to them.]

According to the Korea Consumer Agency, the number of damage relief applications filed against Agoda increased nearly fivefold from 131 in 2022 to 620 in 2024.

The KCC stated that as flight and hotel reservations increase during the vacation season, it will respond with a zero-tolerance policy toward platforms that infringe upon the rights of users to make informed choices.

Agoda Hid "Non-Refundable" Status for Cancelled Flights... Fined Over 2.4 Billion Won (July 6, 2026, D-Report)

Reported by Bae Jun-woo | Written by Bae Jun-hwi | Video by Kim Jong-tae | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.