Complaints increase on costly management of public golf courses

[Anchor]

A serving of tteokbokki costs 50,000 won. The prices of food sold at golf course rest areas can leave you speechless.

There are urgent calls for improvements in the high cart fees and the cash-only payment requirement for caddy fees at public golf courses.

Reporter Son Gi-seong reports.

[Report]

Most golf courses prohibit bringing in outside food, forcing visitors to buy expensive food at the course.

A bowl of hangover soup costs over 20,000 won, and a serving of patbingsu is 40,000 won.

[Kim Jong-myung/Incheon Gye-yang District: "The food prices are too high. Really. A bowl of bean sprout hangover soup costs around 20,000 won. Would an average person come here to eat?"]

Renting a rusty electric cart with peeling paint for 5 hours costs 100,000 won.

The carts, which cost about 15 million won each, can recoup their purchase cost in just six months.

The issue of exorbitant cart fees, along with the requirement to pay caddy fees in cash, adds to the inconvenience for users.

["Caddy fee, no card, right?"]

To address these customer complaints, some golf courses have introduced a card payment system for caddy fees.

However, due to labor shortages, most golf courses underreport caddy incomes, leading to a tax blind spot.

[Park ○○/Golf Course Caddy: "Even though we are filing tax returns, since cash is the main method, our income doesn't seem to be transparently disclosed. (Caddies) don't have a business registration number, so it's quite inconvenient when trying to access financial services."]

Despite this situation, the responsible local government has been negligent, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Tax Service are also indifferent due to a lack of personnel.

There are urgent calls for system improvements to mandate the issuance of cash receipts for caddy fees and to promote credit card payments.

This is KBS News, Son Gi-seong.