Travel Influencer Kim Seri Apologises After Being Accused Of Fraud By Multiple Customers
A woman and her tour group claimed they were stranded at Incheon Airport after being issued fake flight tickets.
By May Vin Ang — 19 Dec 2024, 12:55 PM
A Malaysian influencer, Kim Seri, has come under fire for allegedly providing failed travel services to customers through her travel agency
Many dissatisfied holiday-goers have taken to social media to share their grievances about the influencer's alleged mismanagement of their week-long trips to South Korea, as well as her and her travel agency's consistent failure to meet promises made in advertisements.
Kim Seri, who is based in South Korea, has 1.1 million followers on TikTok, and is known for sharing her life as a business owner and a single parent of two children living in a foreign country.
She reportedly runs a travel agency that specialises in organising group trips to South Korea, particularly for Malaysian halal travellers.
The issue gained public attention after a viral video showed a woman and her tour group stranded at Incheon Airport, allegedly due to Kim Seri's travel agency providing them with fake return tickets
When the woman and her group realised their flight bookings were non-existent, the travel agent reportedly claimed it was a mistake and refunded them some money to purchase their own tickets home.
"It turned out that our names were not listed with any airline. Kim Seri gave the excuse of a system issue, which caused our names to be excluded from the flight ticket list," the victim claimed.
In another incident, a Malaysian customer who booked her company trip with Kim Seri's travel agency from 9 to 15 December claimed that the trip did not live up to expectations
The customer claimed that their flights were changed from Malaysia Airlines to AirAsia, with no baggage allowance or in-flight meals as originally included in the package. Upon arrival, the group also discovered they were staying at a different hotel than promised.
They also encountered issues such as arriving at attractions, only to find them closed, and being left without a bus driver on the final day of their trip.
Another client also detailed the alleged mismanagement of her trip on X, mentioning last-minute flight bookings, no return flight tickets provided until the final day, restaurant reservations only made the night before, and a tour guide who was visiting Seoul for the first time and could not speak Korean.
Another individual shared a list of 28 alleged victims, claiming that the travel agency has defrauded them of nearly RM400,000, with clients paying an average of RM13,000 for their packages.
After the issue went viral on social media, Kim Seri issued an apology and promised to refund customers affected by the problems with her South Korea travel packages
According to The Star, she took to her Instagram Stories, which have since disappeared, to pledge to resolve the matter by 1 February 2025.
"First of all, I would like to sincerely apologise for all the concerns and difficulties I have caused.
"I ask for your understanding that, at this moment, I am unable to issue refunds in one go.
"However, I assure you that I will resolve this issue through a repayment plan, where all outstanding amounts will be paid by or before 1 February 2025," she said, also acknowledging the possibility of ending up behind bars.
Dang Wangi police chief ACP Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman confirmed that the police have received five reports regarding allegations of being scammed by the influencer.
