소비자정책 기본계획 추진체계의 개선방향

With the revision of the Consumer Protection Act to the Framework Act on Consumers, the government has become required to establish a basic plan for consumer policy in order to systematically implement consumer policies amid mid- and long-term forecasts. Since the revision of the act, a total of four basic plans have been established and are being carried out, but unlike the purpose of the introduction, the plans have not attracted the participation of related central government agencies. Researchers found problems with the design of the basic plan as defined by the Framework Act on Consumers, and sought improvements in the two aspects of establishing and implementing the basic plan. The main improvements are as follows; The ‘government’ shall establish the basic plan for consumer policy and all the related central government agencies participate in the process jointly. The basic plan for consumer policy shall be established every five years after the extensive process of collecting opinions from stake-holders, and is finalized after deliberation by the Consumer Policy Committee and the Cabinet Council. The Framework Act on Consumers shall stipulate only the essentials to be included in the basic plan for consumer policy. The implementation plan for consumer policy shall be developed simultaneously with the basic plan. The policy agenda of implementation plan shall be organized only as a means of carrying out the basic plan tasks, and monitored during the plan period. The time limit for the implementation plan formation shall be deleted from the Framework Act on Consumers, and matters concerning the implementation plans delegated to the subordinate statutes. The implementation plans shall be developed only by the relevant central administrative bodies with revision of the Enforcement Decree concerning the evaluation of the plan, and the ‘Performance Evaluation Guideline for Consumer Policy Basic Plan’ shall be established separately. In conclusion, it is necessary to simplify the contents of the basic plan for consumer policy and improve the implementation system of the Framework Act on Consumers so that the process of developing and implementing the plan be more systematic and practical.