Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations

KNCCO (Chairman: Lee Deok-seung) will hold a campaign commemorating World Consumer Rights Day 2014, which falls on March 15, in Myeong-dong, Seoul at 11:00 AM on March 14 under the theme Fix Our Phone Rights.

For the campaign, about 100 people from the organization and member organizations will start with a street march from YWCA Seoul. They will also perform in front of Myeong-dong Theater an act satirizing businesses’ arbitrary system of issuing complex communications charge invoices, which tie up consumers, and strip them off their rights and benefits. In addition, heads of consumer organizations will make speeches advocating consumers’ communications-related rights.

The campaign includes a roundtable meeting to discuss consumers’ communications service-related rights at the auditorium of Korea YWCA, scheduled for 1:00 PM on March 14. During the session, representatives of consumer organizations, government, and relevant businesses will discuss matters concerning the five issues announced by Consumer International (CI) with regard to enhancing consumers’ basic rights in communications service.

KNCCO plans to wage the consumer campaign throughout the year.

1) Street March Advocating “Fix Our Phone Rights”

○ Hour/Date: 11:00 AM on March 14, 2014

○ Place: Seoul YWCA – Myeong-dong Theater – SK Networks – Seoul YWCA

○ Presider: Lim Eun-gyeon, KNCCO Secretary General

Time

Schedule

Participants

10:50~11:00 AM

Gathering at Seoul YWCA

Those from consumer organizations

11:00~11:10

Street march

Those from consumer organizations

11:10~11:20

Satire performance

(Myeong-dong Theater)

Student supporters for the Green Consumer Network in Korea

11:20~11:30

Rallying speech (3 minutes)

- Two heads of consumer organizations

11:30~11:50

Picket demonstration

Those from consumer organizations

Noon

End of the event

2) Roundtable Meeting to Discuss Consumers’ Communications Service-related Rights

○ Hour/Date: 1:00 PM on March 14, 2014

○ Place: Auditorium at Korea YWCA, second floor (opposite of Myeong-dong Cathedral)

○ Presider: Lim Eun-gyeon, KNCCO Secretary General

○ Participants: Experts and people from consumer organizations, government, and relevant businesses (about 50 people)

○ Content of the session

Time

Details

1:00 ~ 1:10 PM

Greetings (by Lee Deok-seung, KNCCO Chairman and President of the Green Consumer Network in Korea)

1:10 ~ 2:10 PM

□ Five proposals on consumer communications services rights

1. Making fair service contracts; using simple and plain language in contracts

(Consumers Korea)

2. Provision of services worth their price

(Korea Consumers Education Center; Green Consumer Network in Korea)

3. Transparency in issuing charge invoices

(Korean Women’s Federation for Consumers; Korea YMCA; Korea Consumer Affairs Institute)

4. Protection of consumers’ personal information

(National Council of Homemakers’ Classes; Seoul YWCA; Consumers’ Union of Korea)

5. Disclosure of the process of handling consumers’ complaints

(Headquarters of the Korean Women’s Association)

2:10 ~ 3:30 PM

□ Panel discussion

○ Presider: Kang Jeong-hwa, President of the Consumers’ Union of Korea

○ Participants

- Lee Chang-beom, professor at Kyunghee University

- Park Gi-yeong, professor at Suncheon National University

- Kwak Jeong-ho of the Institute of Information and Communications Industry (IICI)

- Kim Do-nyeon, senior researcher at the Korea Consumer Agency

- O Nam-seok, Director General in charge of user policies, Korea Communications Commission (KCC)

- Kim Ju-han, Director General in charge of communications policy, Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning (MSIP)

- Ha Seong-ho, Managing Director, SKT

- Kim Chung-seong, Managing Director, KT

- Park Byeong-dae, Managing Director, LGU+

- Jeong Gil-ho, LG Electronics

- Ryu Un-sik, Wireless Business Department, Samsung Electronics

- Seo Yeong-hun, aide to Rep. Yu Seoung-hi

3:30 ~ 3:40 PM

□ Summary of the discussion