By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
A modest fee of about 3,000 won was enough for bath-goers to enjoy pampering at a local public bathhouse, but the long-standing bathing experience may become a little pricier this winter as skyrocketing crude oil prices aren't showing any signs of declining.
Pressured by the steep rate hikes of city gas _ the primary heating source for sauna water _ spa owners say they will soon be left with no choice but to raise the entrance fee by about 20 to 30 percent.
Global crude oil prices have lately been setting all-time high records day after day, reaching a new trading high in Asia at about $93 Monday.
Bathhouse owners say such daily updates of record-setting figures are pushing them into a corner.
``The solution doesn't lie in simply raising the admission fee because the problem is much bigger than that,'' said Kim Soo-chul, the spokesman of the Korean Public Bathhouse Association.
He said the oil price hike has a direct impact on consumers' everyday spending and they will begin to cut expenses in things they consider leisure.
``Saunas are considered leisure by most people, aren't they?'' Kim asked, adding that tight competition among related businesses also hurts the industry as a whole.
There are about 15,000 small, medium and large-sized saunas nationwide, and as the number continues to grow, businesses are reluctant to raise fees out of fear that they might lose customers, he explained.
Past figures show the trend, as the average bathhouse entrance fee was around 1,300 in 1990, and there was only a two-fold increase over nearly two decades.
As structural and regulatory changes must be made to ease the burden on businesses, Kim said sauna owners across the country are voicing their demands for the government to cut oil taxes.
However, no changes are currently expected to be made by the state, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon O-kyu said at a briefing Monday that while in-depth analysis of consumer burden will be examined, no cuts are planned for now.
``Governmental efforts are disappointing, so we just have to do what we can at our level,'' said Kim, adding that spa price jumps will probably start with the onset of the cold season.
He stressed it's not only the major exporters and corporations that get hit by the oil price hike, but the small neighborhood bathhouses that are moaning as well.