Usually, when consumer damage occurs, if it is minor, the consumer receives a refund or exchange through the store. However, if the damage to the consumer is significant and a simple one-to-one exchange or refund is not sufficient or unsatisfactory, compensation for the damage is insufficient or unsatisfactory. Damage relief is provided through the Consumer Complaint Center. You can apply.
In this case, it is not only a matter between the consumer and the seller, but also relief for damage to the producer or distributor, so you can receive appropriate counseling through the Consumer Complaint Center or Consumer Counseling Center and receive recommendations for compensation or agreement.
However, when it comes to reporting consumer damage, it is difficult to know which agency or organization to report it to.
As you can see, even if you search, there are more than one or two consumer organizations.
There are so many organizations engaged in consumer protection activities that it is confusing as to which of them is the right place to report.
To put it briefly, the conclusion is as follows.
Once consumer damage occurs, all you have to do is call the Consumer Counseling Center at 1372 without having to contact the many organizations you searched for on the portal.
Alternatively, you can report it through the Consumer Counseling Center website. www.ccn.go.kr
Here, the Korea Consumer Agency, which is in charge of damage relief, is a quasi-governmental organization.
It has more than 50 employees, and is an institution designated by the Minister of Strategy and Finance among public institutions that are not public enterprises, and is also introduced as a quasi-governmental institution with a consignment execution type in Alio, a public institution disclosure system.
Therefore, there are various consumer organizations searched on the portal, but there is no need to check them one by one. You can just consult directly by phone or online at the Consumer Counseling Center website https://www.ccn.go.kr/.
The route and form for applying for online consultation are as follows.
For reference, in addition to the consumer counseling center operated by the Fair Trade Commission, consumer organizations exist under each regional or field name because under the Framework Act on Consumers, organizations that meet certain requirements can engage in consumer damage relief activities.
Other consumer consultation centers
Consumer organizations that meet the requirements under the Framework Act on Consumers must register with the Fair Trade Commission or city/provincial governors and receive a registration certificate.
A registration certificate as shown on the left below must be issued to become an official and legal consumer organization.
Of course, only legally registered consumer organizations can receive state subsidies.
And the consumer organization register on the right below is a list of consumer organizations prepared by the Fair Trade Commission, and the list must be maintained according to their eligibility.
The most recent consumer group status list currently posted on the Fair Trade Commission website was updated on May 26, 2016.
The details are as follows.
At first glance, it appears that there are far fewer registered entries than the previous search results, so they may make the uncharacteristic excuse of a civil servant, saying that they have not been made public because they have not been updated, but in reality, I think there are far more than the 16 below.
Consumer counseling center for financial complaints
In the above list of consumer groups, it is particularly interesting that there are financial consumer groups numbered 14 and 16.
Usually, financial-related inconveniences involve direct financial damage, so most people would prefer to file a complaint with the Financial Supervisory Service.
However, since complaints about Financial Supervisory Service complaints are so common that you can easily find them in any number of communities, I wondered if there would be any use in filing a financial complaint with a general consumer group rather than a national public institution, but the two websites I looked for just in case surprisingly had bulletin boards. Counseling on civil complaints was being conducted consistently.
If you are in need, please also refer to the website of the Financial Consumer Agency at http://www.fica.kr/ and the Korea Federation of Financial Consumers website at http://www.kfco.org.