[비즈한국] There is an old tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) shop in front of my house. The food is good, so I stop by occasionally on my way home. It’s a familiar sight to see three or four people standing there, eating tteokbokki and fish cakes. A while ago, I saw someone pull out a credit card to pay. I’ve been going to this small, old snack shop for 20 years, but that was the first time I ever saw someone use a card. Since it was just a tiny neighborhood stall, I assumed they only accepted cash, but it turns out they could take cards too. When I asked, "Do you accept cards here?", the elderly owner replied that she had started accepting them recently. She added, "So many people kept pulling out cards that I had no choice..." If even a local snack shop I visit occasionally accepts bank transfers and cards, there’s really no need to carry cash anymore—unless, that is, you are a golfer.
For golfers, the story is different. Cash is always necessary. For one, quite a few golfers play games for money, even if it's just a small amount. Some golfers even carry a separate "game wallet" in their golf pouch. It’s not that they are professional gamblers; it’s just a wallet filled with bills ranging from 1,000 to 50,000 won. Even for golfers who don’t play for money, cash is needed for caddie fees and sometimes for caddie tips. In the world outside the golf course, cash is gradually disappearing. Some people don't even carry cash in their wallets at all, yet inside the golf course, the old tradition of exchanging cash continues.
So, one might ask why we must pay caddie fees only in cash. Since golf was first introduced to Korea and caddies began to exist, we have taken cash caddie fees for granted. Paying caddie fees in cash at Korean golf courses is a type of custom. This custom persists because caddies are not classified as employees directly hired by the golf course, but rather as "special employment workers" who operate as independent contractors. Because golf courses would see their VAT and corporate tax burdens increase if caddie fees were registered as credit card revenue, they have long preferred direct cash transactions between golfers and caddies.
Furthermore, if payments are made via card or electronic transfer, the income is 100% exposed. Once income is exposed, additional burdens such as comprehensive income tax, national health insurance premiums, and national pension contributions follow. Naturally, caddies also pay taxes on their income, but having that income fully transparent creates an additional burden for them.
For individual caddies, registering as a card merchant and carrying a payment terminal involves procedural hurdles and card transaction fees. Systems where the golf course collects the fees on behalf of the caddies and settles them later have also been avoided due to the complexity of tax and legal issues.
However, must golfers continue to do things just because that’s how they’ve always been done?
A while ago, a member of the National Assembly reported on the progress of the public-type golf course system reform that has been pursued over the past two years.
Despite receiving hundreds of billions of won in tax benefits, public golf courses have faced criticism for the "four major unfair practices": forcing the use of carts and caddies, mandating cash payments for caddie fees, banning outside food while charging exorbitant prices for their own food and beverages, and imposing unreasonable cancellation penalties. The assembly member has argued that these practices must be improved. As a result of these efforts, they met with the Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and agreed to begin by diversifying payment methods for caddie fees.
If things go as planned, caddie fee payment methods should diversify to include credit cards and bank transfers by October. Of course, while it is currently possible to pay caddie fees via credit card through some applications, usage is minimal, so we will have to wait and see how this plays out.
A caddie fee is a cost to be paid by an entire team. Therefore, four people divide the total fee. But this amount doesn’t always split evenly. Currently, the most common caddie fee at golf courses is 150,000 won. Golfers would have to pay 37,500 won each, but who carries around change in 500-won increments these days? The common practice is for everyone to pay 40,000 won, with someone paying 10,000 won less, or to collect 160,000 won and give the extra 10,000 won to the caddie. However, "joined" rounds (where strangers play together) are a bit different. It isn't easy for golfers who just met to decide who will pay more or less. In such cases, it would be much neater for each person to pay exactly one-fourth of the amount with a credit card, just like we do when splitting the cart fee.
I’m not sure whether caddies will receive the payments directly or if it will be processed at the golf course front desk once credit card payments begin. But one thing is certain: we cannot continue as we have in the past.
If credit card payments for caddie fees become available, golfers will no longer have to stand in front of ATMs at golf courses. There will be no need to check how much cash is in one's wallet. Wouldn't that make the feeling of heading out for a round a little more relaxed and lighter?