Owner of Dongtan golf practice facility lures members with cash discounts, then disappears

[Anchor]

A golf practice facility in Gyeonggi Province, which had hundreds of members, suddenly closed down recently.

Even two weeks before the closure, the business was attracting members with cash discounts. But when the owner disappeared and the number of victims increased, the police began an investigation.

This is a report by Choi In-young.

[Report]

A commercial building in Dongtan, Hwaseong.

The lights are off, and only the debris from demolition work remains.

Just two months ago, this was a golf practice facility used by over 400 members.

The company notified its members of the sudden closure in September.

It was an unilateral notification without any explanation.

[Mr. A/Golf range victim/Voice Altered: "Even on the day I was going, I received a sudden notification while having dinner, saying 'We are closing unexpectedly. Remove your belongings within the next three days.'"]

Many members had already purchased annual memberships costing over 1 million won.

[Mr. B/Golf range victim/Voice Altered: "This year was my third renewal, and I paid 1.32 million won for a one-year membership and 30 lesson sessions."]

Victims are outraged, stating that the golf practice facility continued to hold cash discount events until two weeks before the closure.

[Mr. C/Golf range victim/Voice Altered: "The last promotion I received was at the end of August, with 'lesson discounts' and 'monthly payment discounts.']

Initially, the company representative promised to refund the members, but after the promised time passed, they disappeared.

[Mr. D/Golf range victim/Voice Altered: "I waited until the day he promised to repay, but on October 1st, he disappeared. Suddenly, his mobile phone was turned off."]

As of now, there have been over 120 complaints filed with the police, with the amount of damages estimated at 50 million won, but the actual damages are expected to be greater.

The company representative stated during the police investigation that "this happened due to poor management" and claimed, "I will sell the land to repay."

The police have charged the company representative with fraud.

In the last three years, more than 580 applications for relief from golf membership damages have been filed with the Korea Consumer Agency.

This is KBS News, Choi In-young.