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[28] 2009.03.13
Consumer Trend Evaluation by Regional Administration Offices for the Promotion of Regional Consumer Administration



#701, Seoul YWCA, 1-1, Myeongdong 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul  (Postal code: 100-021)

    

Press Release

Provided: 2009. 3.13

Tel: 774-4050 / FAX:774-4090

Person in Charge: Lee Jeong-su, General Affairs Manager

Organizer: Kim Eun-ok

 

Consumer Trend Evaluation by Regional Administration Offices for the Promotion of Regional Consumer Administration

 

 

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations plans to conduct a consumer trend evaluation with the help of regional administration offices as well as resident satisfaction evaluation for the promotion of regional consumer administration from May 2009. In the evaluation project, consumers will directly evaluate the consumer administration of regional autonomous governments as the beneficiaries of consumer policies and administration, and it will be the first evaluation conducted by a consumer organization for the purpose of identifying consumer demands and importance of regional consumer policies and administration that fell below the priority list due to development policies. The aim is to encourage developmental competition between regional autonomous governments to grant more rights to regional consumers and promote public welfare.

There are more than 190 active organizations affiliated with the Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations all over Korea, but their work relationship with regional autonomous governments vary greatly according to the regional chief’s will and interest in consumer administration. So there is a serious regional imbalance, particularly for underprivileged consumers.

Regional autonomous governments play a leading role in regional consumer administration while also leveling with consumers, and it directly affects the everyday lives of local residents. However, government workers in charge of the administration lack understanding and professional knowledge of consumer administration, and there is lack of work related communication between the organization in charge of promoting consumer administration, related division, and offices. A more fundamental problem is that they lack the recognition of the importance of consumer administration and consumer administration is below the priority list due to development administration, so consumer administration can only be carried out along with regional economic promotion or industrial promotion programs. This attributes to the elected autonomous government chiefs’ low level of recognition and understanding in consumer administration, and it’s why the undesirable cycle persists. It’s now time to establish regional consumer administration with active and effective policies so as to strengthen the independence capabilities of consumers.

Such is the reality of regional consumer administration, and it calls for a channel that can serve as a conduit that can deliver the needs and complaints of local residents that should be the beneficiaries of the policies. This is why consumer organizations plan to directly measure the degree of satisfaction among local residents in consumer-related policies in order to improve the effectiveness of the consumer policies of each city and province. The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations will evaluate consumer administration while focusing on the degree of local residents’ satisfaction, and refer to the promotional results of consumer administration carried out by 16 cities and provinces.

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations will announce the regional consumer administration evaluation plans at the ‘National Consumer Forum’ to be held in the middle of April this year with the participation of directors and members from consumer organizations all over the country, and listen to the opinions of each consumer organization to remedy the possible problems that can arise in the process of evaluation before conducting the evaluation. Once the evaluation plans are established, the council will organize an evaluation promotion committee and develop an evaluation index so that the evaluation can be conducted as soon as possible. The council expects it to serve as an opportunity to contribute to protect regional consumers’ rights and improve public welfare, while also solving the problem of regional imbalance so it can lead to the development of Korea’s consumer policies and administration.

Member Organizations

Green Consumer Network in Korea, National YWCA of Korea, Korean Federation of Housewives Clubs, Citizens Association for Studying Consumer Problems, National Council of Homemakers’ Classes, Korean Consumer Affairs Institute, Korea Consumer Education Center, Consumers Union of Korea, Korea YWCA

 



#524, #525, 47, Sejong-daero 23-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Postal code: 03182)
  TEL 82-2-774-4050   FAX 82-2-774-4090   E-mail: sohyub@consumer.or.kr