제조물책임법 개정 논의에 따른 제조물책임보험의 개선방안 연구

After being enacted in 2002, Product Liability Law has been enforced for 12 years until now without amendment, but it is inadequately utilized due to difficulty with proof despite large-scale recall of automobile, etc. Meanwhile, due to arrival of high technology products that were not considered at the time of enacting Product Liability Law, such as agricultural products based on biotechnology, there are issues concerning the liability of these products. Therefore, Ministry of Justice, in association with Fair Trade Commission, began to work on revision of Product Liability Law and is planning to submit it to the National Assembly after prior announcement of legislation. This study briefly looks at the background of Product Liability Law and the revised bills submitted to National Assembly so far, and discuss issues regarding amendment of Product Liability Law. Specifically, issues related to expansion of the concept of product, revision of the definition of defect, range of product liability, and moderation of burden of proof will be explained and will be examined in comparison with laws in other countries. After amendment of Product Liability Law, product liability insurance seems necessary because consumers should be effectively helped and companies avoid risking management crisis after paying excessive costs for product liability. Therefore, in this study, current status of product liability insurance will be explained, and ways to improve product liability insurance are suggested including limited mandatory insurance for product liability, revision of insurance rate system, and revision of dispute settlement body other than the court.