The Operating Performance of

Smart Consumer in Korea

 Recently, Smart Consumer, a comprehensive on-line network which consumers can view all at once, became a major consumer issue in Korea.

 Smart Consumer was originally set up by the Fair Trade Committee, an administrative agency that implements a consumer and competition policy in Korea, but is presently operated by the Korean Consumer Agency (KCA).

 Set up in 2011, Smart Consumer began to offer consumer information on January 11 in 2012, bringing together consumer information from 40 websites operated by 22 institutes including the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and the Korea Food & Drug Administration. The information thus collected is classified into themes and sections.

 Smart Consumer consists of five subsections: K-consumer report, price information, recall information, safety/hazard information, and consumer damage counselling information. The K-consumer report, in particular, received a tremendous amount of attention, becoming the leading section on Smart Consumer.

 First issued on March 22, 2012, the K-consumer report offers comparative information on products and services. This initial report compared mountaineering boots, while subsequent issues dealt with variable insurance, children’s drinks, a wireless electronic pot, and baby bottles, respectively. 

 In contrast to earlier approaches to the provision of information, the K-consumer report offers comparative information in a comprehensive fashion. This time, consumer information was offered by dividing the overview, test results, price comparisons, buying guide, and damage information.

 The biggest change occasioned by the K-consumer report was that it was the first such report in Korea to make public recommendations on products. These recommendations were selected by a panel of experts from among products receiving excellent praise in the overall test result.

The K-consumer report has a great influence on consumers and corporations. After the mountaineering boot comparative information was disclosed, the Smart Consumer website went down due to an overwhelming number of simultaneous hits. That very day, about 30,000 consumers connected to Smart Consumer, and the mountaineering boot recommended by the K-consumer report enjoyed a threefold increase in sales.

 From now on, Smart Consumer will endeavor to discover products and services for which there is high consumer demand, secure the reliability of its comparative information, and expand the information production infrastructure.

 The KCA was established in 1987 as a representative institute responsible for dealing with consumer issues. Under the Consumer Law, the government offers corporate information, terms and conditions of business, and information on quality and safety to consumers in Korea. This policy helps consumers to buy products rationally.