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Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations
In September, rises in vegetable ranged from a minimum of 3% to a maximum of 113% across the country.
- Price of Chinese cabbage and turnips jumped by 2.1 and 1.8 times over the preceding month, respectively -
In the September survey, the price of staple commodities, particularly spinach and lettuce, declined slightly from the preceding month before stabilizing, though vegetable prices rose sharply following the rise in August. The price of Chinese cabbage and turnips, the main ingredients of kimchi, rose sharply over August as consumer interest in kimchi was heightened after lead was detected in kimchi imported from China. The September survey included apples and pears rather than melons and watermelons as a result of seasonal changes.
The price of Chinese cabbage and turnips rose sharply over the preceding year across the nation. The price of Chinese of cabbage increased by 112.9%, the highest overall rise, from 1,590 won in August to 3,385 won in September, in Cheongju, Chungbuk. Turnip prices saw the sharpest rise in Cheongju, Chungbuk, by 83.2%, from 1,301 won in August to 2,386 won in September.
The areas where consumer prices were highest was compared with the areas where consumer price were lowest, as follows: the price of rice in Goyang was 1.2 times higher than that in Jinju; the price of Chinese cabbage in Jeju was 1.7 times higher than that in Jeonju; the price of lettuce in Gwangju was 2.3 times higher than that in Wonju; the price of spinach in Daegu was 1.8 times higher than that in Jeonju; the price of turnips in Goyang was 2.2 times higher than that in Jeju; the price of apples in Jinju was 2.0 times higher than that in Gwangju; the price of pears in Ulsan was 1.5 times higher than that in Daejeon; the price of Korean beef in Goyang was 1.6 times higher than that in Ulsan; the price of pork in Goyang was 1.3 times higher than that in Wonju; the price of chicken in Jeju was 1.4 times higher than that in Wonju; the price of imported beef in Goyang was 1.8 times higher than that in Jeju; the price of mackerel in Wonju was 2.2 times higher than that in Gwangju; the price of tofu in Busan was 1.5 times higher than that in Goyang; the price of dried anchovies in Busan was 1.8 times higher than that in Changwon; the price of laver in Busan was 1.5 times higher than that in Ulsan; the price of eggs in Seoul was 1.7 times higher than that in Jeju; the price of ramen Jinju 1.1 was times higher than that in Daegu; the price of ham in Jinju was 1.1 times higher than that in Suwon; the price of milk in Jinju was 1.1 times higher than that in Jeju; the price of yogurt in Ulsan was 1.3 times higher than that in Jeonju; the price of juice in Suwon was 1.3 times higher than that in Daejeon; the price of bottled water in Seoul was 1.3 times higher than that in Changwon; the price of soju in Jinju was 1.1 times higher than that in Daegu; the price of beer in Seoul was 1.1 times higher than that in Goyang; the price of powdered milk in Goyang was 1.4 times higher than that in Wonju; the price of Choco-Pie in Ulsan was 1.2 times higher than that in Chuncheon; the price of coffee in Jeonju was 1.1 times higher than that in Busan; the price of canned tuna in Ulsan was 1.1 times higher than that in Cheongju; the price of sugar in Ulsan was 1.1 times higher than that in Busan; the price of flour in Jinju was 1.1 times higher than that in Daejeon; the price of sesame oil in Gwangju was 1.3 times higher than that in Chuncheon; the price of corn oil in Gwangju was 1.1 times higher than that in Goyang; the price of chili sauce in Gwangju was 1.1 times higher than that in Daegu; the price of toothpaste in Jeju was 1.1 times higher than that in Chuncheon; the price of synthetic detergent in Daejeon was 1.3 times higher than that in Jeonju; the price of boxed tissue paper in Jinju was 1.4 times higher than that in Changwon; the price of diapers in Jeju was 1.1 times higher than that in Ulsan. |
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Consumers Union of Korea
Online digital contents providers do not label properly and do not agree with mid-contract termination.
Consumers have become more interested in digital content services as the number of Internet users has increased exponentially, while the provision of paid digital content services has progressed rapidly. Despite such high interest on the part of the consumers, the details of the digital contents sold online are not labeled or provided intuitively and false information is often provided, causing discontent and damages to consumers.
The Consumers Union of Korea (Chair Jeong Kwang-mo) conducted a survey of labeling practices of online digital contents jointly with the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency. The survey revealed that only 29 vendors (18%) properly indicated the trade name, representative, location, phone number, e-mail address, tax payer number, cyber mall service terms, and communication sales business declaration number, all of which are required to be displayed on the home page. The survey also revealed that 45 sites (28%) allow mid-contract termination, while only 24 sites (19%) allow subscription cancellation within seven days as provided under the law.
162 digital contents sites listed at the top of search site pages were selected for the survey. Three additional specific contents per site were surveyed. A total of 455 specific contents items were surveyed.
Digital contents labeling is regulated by the Act on Consumer Protection in e-Commerce and the Act on the Promotion of the Online Digital Contents Industry.
The surveyed items include the name and title of online contents, the name, address, and phone number of online contents producers, as well as the production and labeling dates, and service terms, which are mandatory labeling items under the Act on the Promotion of the Online Digital Contents Industry; matters related to goods suppliers and sellers, name, type and description of goods, method of payment, order cancellation, effect of cancellation, exchange, return, warranty, refunds, technical requirements for transmission or installation of goods supplied by digital media, sales contract terms, and matters relating to sale to minors are required under the Act on Consumer Protection in e-Commerce.
162 sites in 10 areas were surveyed
The survey results of 162 sites in 10 areas of film, animation, broadcast contents, cartoon, e-book, music, Avatar, Flash, e-learning, and game were as follows:
Only 29 (18%) out of a total of 162 vendors properly indicated their trade name, representative, location, phone number, e-mail address, tax payer number, cyber mall service terms, communication sales business declaration number, and privacy protection policy, all of which are required to be displayed on the home page in order to confirm the identity of the service operator, revealing that it is difficult to check the basic information of the service operator from the majority of online digital contents sites.
115 sites or 71% of all the surveyed sites do not allow access or subscription to the site without the consent of the parents or legal guardian of minors. However, the survey revealed that more thorough control of online contents use by minors is required as 48 sites or 29% lacked any information as to minors’ use or allowed minors’ subscription without parental consent.
Only 24 sites (19%) allowed subscription or order cancellation within seven days. 138 sites or 85% of all the sites surveyed either prohibited subscription cancellation, shortened the period (one to five days), or failed to mention subscription cancellation.
The Act on Consumer Protection in e-Commerce stipulates that subscription cancellation should be allowed within seven days. Therefore, it was revealed that there exists a large gap between the law and actual practice. Furthermore, only 45 sites (27.7%) allowed mid-subscription cancellation, meaning that it is not allowed in the majority of cases. 159 sites operate a customer service center that users may contact by one or more means (phone, e-mail or fax) while using online digital contents. 24 sites failed to indicate any contact address or information, preventing users from contacting about any problems.
The survey of 455 specific contents provided by 162 digital contents sites revealed that they display their payment and billing method, price and other contract or subscription terms relatively well, but that few indicated their identification number (99.6%), language used (98.7%), date displayed (95.6%), and file size (96.7%) as recommended under the Act on the Promotion of the Online Digital Contents Industry.
The survey included the display status of such common items as the launch date, identification number, language used, date displayed, country of origin, genre, distributor name, address, and phone numbers. None of the 455 contents surveyed displayed all the common items. It was revealed that the majority of the site operators are unaware of the display requirements of the Act.
Effective law and standard terms required for digital contents service.
Based on the survey results, the Consumers Union of Korea and the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency notified individual vendors of their compliance status in accordance with the Act on Consumer Protection in e-Commerce and the Act on the Promotion of the Online Digital Contents Industry. They plan to select and award prizes to superior vendors who correctly display as required and who control subscription by minors and allow subscription cancellation as provided under the law for consumer protection.
Based on the survey outcome, they plan to recommend that an effective law be enacted and standard service terms be established for online digital contents services since the provisions of the current Act on Consumer Protection in e-Commerce apply mainly to conventional goods.
▶ Contact: Kang Jeong-hwa, secretary general (02-794-7801),
Jeong Ji-yeon, team leader (02-3707-8360) |
