"Wedding Venue Disappears Right Before the Ceremony"... Sogang University Convention Forcibly Demolished Leaves Couples in Despair

"The wedding venue completely disappeared right before our wedding."

Bride-to-be A, who was scheduled to hold her wedding ceremony at the Gonzaga Convention at Sogang University on September 12, received shocking news from the venue on August 23.

She was told that operation of the wedding venue had become impossible due to a court-enforced eviction.

True to the notice, on August 24, the day after the notification, the forced enforcement was carried out, and all interior decorations and the virgin road inside the wedding venue were dismantled.

With her wedding just two weeks away, bride-to-be A had no choice but to hastily change her schedule and book another venue.

This forced enforcement came at the end of a long-standing dispute between the wedding venue operating company and the building management entity.

When the school was locked down during COVID-19, Gonzaga Convention, located inside the campus, could not endure the accumulated deficits and repeatedly failed to pay rent on time.

Consequently, Sogang International Dormitory Co., Ltd., which manages the building, initiated the forced eviction procedure.

The problem is that even though there was a possibility of forced execution due to debt, the company concealed this fact and continued to accept wedding reservations.

Victim A vented her anger on August 26, saying, "Hearing from the International Dormitory, they had given notice since last December not to accept reservations out of concern for such damages, yet the company hid this fact and continued to proceed with new contracts."

Among the victims this time are couples who signed contracts as recently as March of this year.

The company claimed, "As conditions did not improve after COVID-19, we requested meetings several times to lift the attachment request, but we were refused dialogue itself and only heard threats that a forced eviction would be carried out."

They also rebutted, "We applied for a suspension of execution and filed a lawsuit to prevent the forced eviction as much as possible," adding, "Since the enforcement measures were not actually carried out and we only frequently received threats that it would be executed, we had no choice but to stay in business."

On the afternoon of August 24, the company gathered the victimized couples to explain the situation, but failed to offer any concrete countermeasures.

A vented her frustration, saying, "They guided us that since we are alumni and graduates, we could go directly to the school and discuss it."

A also reported that although the company stated it would provide linkage measures to other nearby venues, even this guidance was not provided unless requested first.

As they had to suddenly change their schedule and venue, the cancellation penalties they must pay to dress and makeup shops are not insignificant.

The company stated, "We will naturally return the deposit and provide compensation for damages within the legal scope."

Currently, 32 victims have gathered in a KakaoTalk open chat room created by A for countermeasures.

Most of the couples-to-be are alumni who graduated from Sogang University.

As the venue chosen out of trust and memories for their alma mater turned into heavy losses, they are considering collective action to seek joint relief for damages.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.