해외 시교정 보정용구 전자상거래 현황과 한국의 정책적 방향성 고찰 (1) - 유럽연합과 영국을 중심으로 -

Purpose: Recently, international online business services for eyeglasses, contact lenses, and online eye exams caused a dispute not only in the Korean optometric industry but also academically. Therefore, this study aimed at a soft landing of optometry related at the electronic commerce service that might come to Korea and results in finding reasonable evidence that will resonated in developing policies for optometrists. Methods: Based on the keyword “optometry” related to the electronic commerce services, collecting documents, web pages, emailing, and online interviews with experts in the EU were used for the primary qualitative study. The ideal EU model was found and analyzed to help in the advancement of the Korean optometric society. Results: A finding emerged that the visual function and rehabilitation service in Korea seemed incomparably worse than five comparable countries to Korea in terms of population and nominal GDP ($) in the EU. Presumably, a rapid reduction of optical retailers and longer waiting times resulted in deteriorating general eye health services if optometry related the electronic commerce service were hypothetically adopted. Given the recent trials and errors of the EU, many legal cases have been collected that the data minimizing the eye exams for practicality and convenience were insufficient to provide proper eyeglasses for correction. Conclusions: Considering the deteriorating Korean visual function and rehabilitation services in comparison to the global standard, the most efficient mediation should be urgently considered, before it is too late.