S. Korea to cut commissions on cancellation of int'l air tickets

SEJONG, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's anti-trust regulator on Thursday ordered the nation's 11 major travel service firms to lower commissions charged to customers who cancel their international air tickets. A customer who buys an international air ticket via a travel management firm and cancels the ticket usually pays 30,000 won (US$25.86) to the travel management firm in a cancellation fee, in addition to a separate cancellation fee paid to the airliner. If the order is put into place from next year, the cancellation fee will be cut to 10,000 won, the Fair Trade Commission said. The 11 travel management firms include Hanatour Service Inc., Modetour Network Inc., Interpark Corp. and Redcap Tour Co. The anti-trust regulator said the current cancellation fee paid to the travel management firms is excessive, given their computerized work in cancelling an air ticket. The regulator also said it will soon look into contracts for cancellation fees paid to foreign airliners' international flights departing from Korea. (END)