국제 서비스거래 관련 소비자 문제 연구: 글로벌 OTA 플랫폼을 중심으로

This study aims to provide essential data for protecting consumer rights and fostering a robust and equitable market in response to increasing international service transactions after lifting travel advisories. It sought to identify consumer issues in these transactions and examine consumers' actual experiences and perceptions. Two key research activities were conducted: Study 1 used LDA topic modeling to analyze consumer issue types in international service transactions, analyzing 4,403 cases from 1372 consumer counseling centers. This led to identifying seven major consumer issues: refund denial (Topic 1), exaggerated advertising (Topic 2), coercive sales (Topic 3), service disruptions (Topic 4), poor complaint handling (Topic 5), inadequate disaster response (Topic 6), and insufficient epidemic regulations (Topic 7). Study 2 surveyed consumers' experiences and perceptions. Findings revealed frequent encounters with unjust pricing display systems and exaggerated advertising, with refund denial and unfair billing as the most severe issues. Most consumers used portal searches or company centers over government channels, expressing low satisfaction with these methods. They viewed companies as primarily responsible for preventing and resolving transaction issues, with a lesser emphasis on consumer responsibility compared to companies and government. The study proposes policy implications and directions for addressing consumer issues in international service transactions.