Using the Korea Consumer Agency
Korea Consumer Agency
- To provide quick and impartial relief for the damages sustained by a consumer, the Korea Consumer Agency (
http://www.kca.go.kr/) directly consults the consumer when processing a damage claim (Articless 33 and 35 of the Framework Act on Consumers ).
- The Korea Consumer Agency’s damage relief is based on the consumer dispute resolution criteria and other related laws, and recommends settlement that is objective and fair to both parties. Their recommendation is not legally binding but it is a means of settling disputes quickly and at no cost. The Korea Consumer Agency recommends a settlement between the parties that is based on
Consumer Dispute Resolution Criteria. When a settlement cannot be reached, the dispute is mediated by the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission.
Applying for consumer damage relief
- Damage relief applicant
· A consumer can apply for damage relief at the Korea Consumer Agency when a damage occurs with a purchased good or service (“goods” hereon after) during use (Article 55(1) of the Framework Act on Consumers ).
· A national or local autonomous government organization that received an application for damage relief from a consumer can request to have the Korea Consumer Agency to process it (Article 55(2) of the Framework Act on Consumers).
- Application procedure for damage relief
· The application for damage relief must be made in writing, and only in an emergency or in unavoidable circumstances may the consumer apply by phone (Article 43(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Consumers).
- Recommendation for settlement of the damage compensation
· When the application is received, the Korea Consumer Agency will make a recommendation to have the consumer and the business operator reach a settlement on the damage compensation (Article 57 of the Framework Act on Consumers).
- Processing period for damage relief
· The damage relief processing is completed only if a settlement is reached within 30 days from the day the application is received (Article 58 of the Framework Act on Consumers).
- However, if the case is related to medical services, insurance, agriculture, fisheries or if it calls for an investigation, test or inspection into the causes of the damage, then the damage relief processing may be extended by a period of no more than 60 days (Article 58 proviso of the Framework Act on Consumers and Article 44 of the Enforcement Dcree of the Framework Act on Consumers).
- If a lawsuit on this dispute is filed in a court of law while the Korea Consumer Agency is processing the damage relief, then the damage relief procedure shall stop from that point onwards (Article 59 of the Consumer Basic Act).
· If a settlement has not been reached after a period of 30 days (or up to 90 days, if extended), the case is referred to the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission, where the process of dispute mediation begins again (Article 58 of the Framework Act on Consumers).
Dispute resolution through the Consumer Dispute Resolution Commission
Dispute resolution through the Consumer Dispute Resolution Commission
- If the parties involved in the consumer dispute, the consumer and the business operator, do not reach a settlement, as recommended by the Korea Consumer Agency or a consumer organization, then the case is mediated by the Consumer Dispute Resolution Commission.
- If both parties agree to the mediation decision, then a judicial compromise will come into effect. If one of the parties rejects the mediation decision, then that party can file a civil litigation.
Application for individual dispute mediation
- If the dispute between the consumer and the business operator is not resolved by the consumer damage-related organization or a settlement has not been reached, as recommended during the Korea Consumer Agency’s consumer damage relief procedures, then the parties can apply for dispute mediation at the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission (Article 65(1) of the Framework Act on Consumers).
Individual dispute mediation period
- As a rule, the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission must complete the dispute mediation within a period of 30 days from the day the application for mediation is received (Article 66(1) of the Framework Act on Consumers).
- However, in unavoidable circumstances, this period can be extended. The reason for the extension and the deadline must be stated in a written notification to the parties and their representatives (Article 66(2) of the Framework Act on Consumers).
※ If a lawsuit on this dispute is filed in a court of law while the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission is processing the dispute mediation, then the procedure for dispute mediation shall stop from that point onwards (Articles 59 and 65(5) of the Framework Act on Consumers).
Dispute mediation decision
- The decision from mediation is notified immediately to the relevant parties, and if there are no responses within 15 days from the parties‘ receipt of notification, then the decision is considered to be accepted (Article 67 of the Framework Act on Consumers).
※ If a party refuses to accept the decision, then it must express its intention to refuse in writing (Article 55(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Consumers).
Effectiveness of dispute mediation
- When mediation is successful, a consent decree is issued, which has the same effectiveness as a judicial comprise (Article 67(4) of the Framework Act on Consumers).
※ In other words, once a dispute has been successfully mediated by the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission, a lawsuit cannot be filed.
Actions that can be taken after failure of mediation
- If the mediation fails because one of the parties unilaterally rejects the mediation decision by the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission, the dispute can be resolved through litigation (small claims adjudgement, civil mediation, and civil litigation).
Procedures for collective dispute mediation by the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission
- If the same or similar type of damages occurred during the use of a purchased good or a service by a significant number of consumers, the Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission can mediate the dispute across-the-board (Article 68(1) of the Framework Act on Consumers and Article 56 of the Enforcement Degree of the Framework Act on Consumers).
· In the case when the number of consumers who were affected by the same or similar type of damages amount to more than 50, but with the exclusion of the following consumers:
√Consumers who reached an agreement with the business operator on dispute resolution or damage compensation through an autonomous dispute mediation, recommended settlement or other means
√Consumers who are involved in dispute mediation through relevant dispute mediation organizations that were established for each law
√Consumers who filed a litigation in a court of law over damages caused by purchased goods
· The important point of contention should be a legal or a de facto commonality in all of the cases.
- The results of the collective dispute mediation are valid for all consumers involved in the mediation process. Consumers who were not involved can also receive damage compensation if the business operator accepts the results of the mediation and submits a plan for compensation.
· The start of collective dispute mediation and notification
√ The Consumer Dispute Mediation Commission that received a request or an application for collective dispute mediation can start the mediation procedure through a voting resolution (Article 68(2) of the Framework Act on Consumers).
√News of the start of the collective dispute mediation shall be posted on the website of the Korea Consumer Agency (
http://www.kca.go.kr) and publicized in national daily newspapers for 14 days (Article 58 of the Consumer Basic Act Enforcement Decree).
· Consumers and business operators who are not the parties of the collective dispute mediation mentioned above can apply to participate during the notification period in writing (Article 68(3) of the Framework Act on Consumers and the Article 59(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Consumers).