A Literature Review By:

Sumeeta Neelamegam
Senior Assistant Director
Consumer Research and Policy Division
KPDNHEP
ABOUT KOREA CONSUMER AGENCY (KCA)

Consumer Protection Act The Framework Act on Consumer

SINCE1 SINCE20
9Agency
87
Korea Consumer
Protection 07
Korea Consumer Agency

Ministry of Finance Fair Trade Commission

and Economy
Predominantly Focuses on “consumer
addressed “consumer empowerment”
protection”

Its founding principle is to protect consumer rights and interests, to promote

a rational consumption life and to contribute to the sound development of
the nation's economy
ABOUT KOREA CONSUMER AGENCY (KCA)
KCA’s major functions
• Devises effective policy alternatives and leads advancement of consumer policy
Consumer Policy Research by conducting research on systems and policies to improve consumer’s rights.

Creation of a safe consumption • Plays a leading role in ensuring consumer safety by conducting surveys and
environment investigations on the quality and safety of the daily life products.

• Improves transaction practices, distribution system, related regulations, etc. to

Improvement of transaction protect consumers from unfair business practices on transactions of goods and
environment services.

• Provides accurate and useful consumer information through various channels

Consumer education and and strives to empower consumers through educational programs provided by
information regions and targeted groups.

• Provides reasonable solutions through consumer counselling, damage redress

Consumer Counselling •Damage
and dispute settlement to address consumers’ complaints and provides
Redress •Dispute Settlement remedies.

• Actively responds to international consumer issues by working and interacting

International cooperation closely with overseas consumer protection agencies.
 FUNCTIONS OF KCA

The Framework Act on Consumer

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
POST REDRESS MEASURES
Policy research, transaction
Complaint handling improvement

Consumer Redress Test & Analysis on

Consumer safety
Dispute settlement Consumer education

Legal support Consumer information

provision

Consumer
Empowerment Index
Strengthen -
ing Consumer Consumer education

Capacity Provision of consumer

information
Strengthening Consumer Capacity
Consumer Empowerment Index
.
The KCA developed a “Consumer Comparisons of 2010, 2014 and 2018 CEI
Empowerment Index” (CEI) to measure
consumer competency level, which may Dimension 2010 2014 2018
eventually be used to track changes and CEI 61.5 64.0 65.5
as an input for measuring policy
effectiveness. Financial 59.1 63.0 65.7
Competency
Transactional 62.1 63.3 66.0
Competency
Consumer- 63.1 65.8 64.4
citizenship
The index is divided into Financial
competency, Transactional competency,
Consumer-citizenship, defining as the
summation of knowledge, attitude,
practice needed to fulfil sound
consumers’ role.

Source: https://www.kca.go.kr/
Strengthening Consumer Capacity
Consumer Empowerment Index
Categories Composition Factors
Subtotal
Levels Sublevels Knowledge Attitude Skills
Financial Planning 4 4 4 12
Financial Asset/Debt 3 3 3 9
Competency Management
Risk Management 2 2 2 6
Structure of the
Information
Consumer Empowerment Usage 3 3 3 9

Index CEI
Transactional Purchase
4 4 4 12
Competency Decision -making
Usage and
2 2 2 6
Dispute Solving
Consumer rights 4 4 4 12
Consumer
Consumer
Citizenship Liabilities 3 3 3 9
Competency
Consumer Society 2 2 2 6

Total 27 27 27 81
Strengthening Consumer Capacity
Consumer Empowerment Index
Comparisons of 2010, 2014 and 2018
Consumer Empowerment Index
The Korea Consumer Agency (KCA, conducted a
2018 Consumer Empowerment Index” survey 66
65.5
for the 3rd time subsequent to the 2010 and 65
2014 surveys in order to comprehensively
64
measure the level of consumer competence of 64
Korean adults.
63

Index %
The survey found that the 2018 Consumer
62
Empowerment Index averaged 65.5 points (out 61.5

of 100 points), up 1.5 points compared to the 61

second survey conducted in 2014.
60

59
2010 2014 2018

Year
61.5 64.0 65.5
points in points in points in
2010 2014 2018
Source: https://www.kca.go.kr/
Strengthening Consumer Capacity
Consumer Empowerment Index

• The result of comparing the Consumer Empowerment Index based on the experience of consumer
education indicated that the sample size of a group of individuals who had received consumer
education over the past three (3) years was small, but their Consumer Empowerment Index
(75.4 points) was about 10 points higher than that of a group of people who had not received
any consumer education (65.3 points), showing that consumer education had a positive impact
on improving consumer competence.
 
• KCA would utilize the results of the 2018 Consumer Empowerment Index survey as basic data to
identify and examine target areas and policy directions in the process of establishing consumer
policies, and added that it would also hold a policy seminar associated with the consumer
empowerment index to strengthen communication and cooperation with related organizations.

Source: https://www.kca.go.kr/
Strengthening
S t r e n g t h e n i n g C oConsumer
n s u m e r C a p a c i t y Capacity

Consumer Education

Legal Framework of
4 STRATEGY
5 ARTICLE Consumer Education
The Framework Act on Consumer
Consumer Education
Policy
The 5th Basic Plan for Consumer Policy

9 KEY PLAN
Strengthening Consumer Capacity
Consumer Education

KCA
LEADERS
Education programs
planned by the KCA Government CONSUMERS
officials, teachers, Local leader,
consumer children, consumer,
organization senior citizens
activists, corporate
staffs
Strengthening Consumer Capacity
Consumer Education
• Supports consumer empowerment of socially disadvantaged classes such as
Training for consumer immigrants and the elderly by fostering education instructors specialized in
consumer education by region and targeted groups.
education instructors

• Designates elementary, middle and high schools as consumer education research

Support for school schools to support education programs empowering students as consumers. Also,
the KCA operates training program for school teachers to promote consumer
consumer education education.

• Provides a variety of consumer education materials to help consumers respond

Provision of consumer rationally and proactively to the changing consumption environment.
education materials

• In order to improve irrational and unethical consumption behaviours and spread a

responsible consumption culture, the KCA conducts consumer surveys, produces
Consumer awareness and distributes PR materials, offers education, and holds seminars as part of the
enhancement project nationwide campaign that is jointly run by the private sector, the government and
the industry
Strengthening Consumer Capacity
Consumer Information
Nuri House KCA’s official website (www.kca.go.kr) Webzine Consumer specialized magazine (www.kca.go.kr/webzine
Consumer Age /).
• Consumers can access various consumer information and major • ‘Consumer Age’, published since 1988, is a consumer magazine specialized in
services provided by the KCA. product information, damage cases, and prevention information to help
consumers. From January 2019, the KCA has been providing useful
consumption information every month through Webzine Consumer Age

A portal offering reliable price information ( Happy consumer

Real Price www.price.go.kr)
• The portal collects and provides weekly price information on
agricultural, livestock and fisheries products, processed foods, and
industrial products that are essential for people's consumption
life.
Information magazine for socially disadvantaged
life together classes
• First issued in March 2019, ‘Happy consumers life together’ is a life-oriented
information magazine which provides easy-to-understand information
focused on consumer information and frequent damage cases for seniors,
immigrants North Korean defectors, etc.

Child Safety A safety information portal for children (

Net www.isafe.go.kr) SNS Communication
• The portal is designed to make it fun and easy for children to learn • The KCA provides consumer information produced as infographics, videos
various types of safety accidents involving children and how to and webdramas through SNS such as instagram, youtube and blog.
prevent the accidents.
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1d7BIBVqmqLmJuyquTKuLA
• https://www.instagram.com/kca.go.kr/
REFERENC
E
• Bae, Soonyoung & Son, Jiyeon (2013), “A Study On The Consumer Education Implementation System
In Korea,” Korea Consumer Agency, Policy Research 13-07, 1-220.
• Lee, Kyoung-a & Son, Jiyeon (2013), “2014 Consumer Empowerment Index Of Korea,” Korea
Consumer Agency, Policy Research 14-02, 1-315.
• Lee, Kyoung-a(2017), “Provision Of Consumer Information” In A Series Of Consumer Policy, Edited By
Lee, Deuk-yeon, Korea Consumer Agency, Policy Research, Forthcoming.
• Bae, Soonyoung(2017), “Consumer Education” In A Series Of Consumer Policy, Edited By Lee, Deuk-
yeon, Korea Consumer Agency, Policy Research, Forthcoming. KFTC(2016), “2016 Annual Report”,
• KFTC International Cooperation Division\
• https://www.kca.go.kr/
• https://unctad.org/
THANK YOU
감사합니다
Gam sah abnida