소비자기본법의 개정과정과 내용에 관한 연구

This article's aim is that the legislative process and basic contents of Framework Act on Consumer of 2006 in Korea. The "Consumer Protection Act" was wholly amended and changed its name to "Framework Act on Consumer"(FAC). The purpose of the FAC is to enhance consumption life and to contribute to the development of national economy by defining the rights and duties of consumers, the duties of the State and local governments and enterprisers, the roles of consumer organizations, and stipulating the relationship between consumers and enterprisers as key economic players in the free market economy, and also basic matters necessary for comprehensively pursuing consumer policies. First of all, the FAC made a great change on the position of the consumers. The consumers were regarded as objects of the policies realted to consumer protection, but by the FAC consumers have the active position to select her or his right. This indicated the paradigm shift in performing consumer policies. The enforcement of the FAC reflects the change in Government’s basic direction of consumer policies from “consumer protection” to “realization of consumer sovereignty.” And the name of the organization changed from the Korea Consumer Protection Board to the Korea Consumer Agency(KCA). As the Consumer Safety Center within the KCA became a legally recognized body under the the FAC. In addition, with the introduction of the collective ADR system and Association Lawsuit (Verbandsklage), more efficient consumer damage redresses became possible. The Collective ADR is a system under which similar consumer damages involving a huge number of consumers can be redressed in a prompt and cost-effective way through collective dispute settlement process. Association Lawsuit is new consumer litigation which can be protected consumers' interests by preventing unlawful act done by enterprisers.