법개발학적 관점에서 본 소비자법의 지위와 역할- 경쟁법과의 관계를 중심으로 -

Generally, the competition law and consumer law share a common goal: the enhancement of consumer welfare. In this way they are highly complementary and reinforce one another. That is, competition policy is beneficial to consumers in promoting competitive and fair markets, rather than promoting the interests of individual firms. Competition policy can contribute to improved economic performance by fostering enterprise development, investment, productivity and export performance as well. Consumer policy is also helpful to make market environments to be more competitive in many aspects. On the other hand, however, they pursue different standpoints and apply different instruments to attain that goal. Their enforcement techniques might even conflict or leave gaps. These two disciplines complement each other and seem to work the best when they are harmonized with one another and can rely on each other’s positive effects. The difficult question is how much room both areas should be given in order to collaborate and not to thwart one another’s efforts. This kind of question has been raised in the perspective of the law and development. It is difficult task to establish such an efficient balance, but it is the key to realize effective competition and maximized consumer welfare on markets, considering the stage of economic development in each countries. In this context, the paper ultimately deals with the question how to harmonize both laws and policies in the law and development perspective through an analysis of role and interface.