A woman who hosted a studio on Airbnb without notifying the government of her business was slapped with fines totaling 700,000 won ($620), Thursday.

The woman was accused of profiting from operating the lodging business between December 2016 and April 2018, receiving about 50,000 won per night without reporting her activities or earnings.

According to current law, a home-sharing platform like Airbnb is mostly illegal in Korea with a few exceptions. Some of the few cases in which one can legally operate a lodging business includes when a host accommodates only foreign travelers for tourism purposes.

Two people were also fined for illegally leasing their studios in 2015 shortly after the country’s first crackdown on illegal listings.

Meanwhile, existing lodging businesses such as inns and motels have stood heavily against the push toward legalizing home-sharing platforms. A related association held a protest and submitted a statement on Aug. 27 in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.

By Kim Jee-min (jeeminkim@heraldcorp.com)