Monday, September 21, 2026

"A Bedbug Came Out of the Bed, So We Changed Rooms—Then Another Bug Appeared"... Haeundae Hotel Refuses Refund, Saying "We Suffered a Loss Too"

Input
2026-09-05 15:00:00
Updated
2026-09-05 15:00:00
Photo: Screenshot from JTBC's "Scandal Supervisor"

[Financial News] A guest and a hotel are embroiled in a dispute after a suspected bedbug was found in a hotel room in Haeundae, Busan. Although the guest was moved to another room, a similar bug was found there as well.
According to a recent episode of JTBC's "Scandal Supervisor," informant A recently visited Busan with her daughter on business and stayed at a hotel in Haeundae.
A entered a room on the hotel's seventh floor at around 10 p.m. and went to bed at about 3 a.m. She then noticed a black bug moving on the bed. After photographing it and checking the image with an artificial intelligence (AI) app, she was told that it could be a bedbug.
A complained to the hotel, and an employee who inspected the bug moved her to a room on the third floor that had recently undergone interior renovations.
However, a bug was also found in the new room. A said, "Just in case, I looked inside the pillow and found several black spots. I searched online and was told they were signs that could indicate the presence of bedbugs."
She then lifted the mattress to inspect it and found another small bug. When A checked it again with the AI app, she was told that it appeared to be a "bedbug nymph."
A complained again, but the hotel said it had no vacant rooms and could not move her once more. In the end, A checked out with her daughter without sleeping at all. She reportedly threw away her luggage and clothes because she feared bringing bedbugs home.
A later requested a refund for the accommodation. The hotel refused, saying, "We suffered a loss too by moving you to a room that costs 400,000 won."
The hotel told "Scandal Supervisor" that it had called in a pest-control company for an inspection and that no signs of a bedbug infestation had been found. It explained, "If bedbugs were living there, it wouldn't be just one bug—there would be quite a few, and there should also be signs of molting. None of those signs were found."
The hotel added that the bug found on the seventh floor was presumed to have been a bedbug that fell from another guest's luggage. However, it said the bug found on the third floor was not a bedbug and that A, having become more sensitive after finding the first bug, appeared to have mistaken it for one.
The hotel said it had not issued a separate notice because it had received no bedbug-related reports from other guests. It added that the seventh-floor room was disinfected and temporarily closed.
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter