BTS criticizes alleged Busan hotel price gouging ahead of concerts

BTS members have publicly criticized alleged price gouging by Busan accommodations, issuing a direct warning to business owners who are hiking room rates ahead of the group's concerts in the city next month. During a livestream on fan platform Weverse on Tuesday, BTS leader RM expressed his frustration over accommodation price hikes surrounding the event. "There is so much news regarding accommodations. It does not feel good," RM said. While acknowledging that room rates naturally fluctuate between peak and off-peak seasons, he urged business owners to exercise restraint, saying in the regional Busan dialect, "Let's not overdo it." Bandmates Suga and Busan-native Jimin agreed with his concerns. They said even their own relatives were struggling to find rooms and questioned whether charging several times the usual rate was too extreme. The remarks follow a growing online backlash against alleged price gouging in Busan. Fans criticized cases where some accommodations hiked rates to hundreds of thousands or even millions of won per night during the concert week. With BTS set to hold concerts on June 12 and 13 for its "ARIRANG" world tour, some businesses have allegedly canceled existing reservations only to resell the same rooms at higher prices. Government watchdogs have also tracked the skyrocketing accommodation rates in Busan. According to a Korea Consumer Agency survey from February, room rates in Busan during the week of the concert increased by up to 7.5 times compared to the preceding and following weeks.