기업 리워드 프로그램의 규제와 소비자 보호

Reward(Loyalty) points —such as airline miles and credit card points— are granted to consumers based on their usage. Traditionally regarded as gratuitous benefits, these points have largely remained outside regulatory frameworks, allowing businesses to exercise broad discretion in drafting terms under significant informational asymmetry. However, as reward points increasingly function as payment instruments and become objects of sale, transfer, or investment, their growing ‘monetization and financialization’ call for a reassessment of their legal nature—including their status as rights and assets—and underscore the need for institutional safeguards to protect consumers. This article examines the use and current regulatory landscape of corporate reward programs and provides a comparative analysis of their legal characterization, focusing primarily on airline miles. It proposes several reformative measures to address existing regulatory gaps. In the realm of judicial remedies, the economic value of points should be recognized, the doctrine of contract-term control in civil litigation further developed, and the potential introduction of ex ante general judicial review of standard terms considered. Insolvency proceedings likewise require clearer standards for determining whether reward points constitute claims. In the sphere of administrative regulation, authorities should employ flexible and proactive tools when reviewing terms and encourage businesses to enhance the transparency of their reward point schemes through more robust disclosure and prior-notice procedures. Considering the increasingly value-bearing nature of reward points, this article proposes examining, as a matter of legislative policy, whether certain points may, under specified conditions, be brought under the regulatory framework for prepaid electronic payment instruments under the revised Electronic Financial Transactions Act, or alternatively be subject to a comparable user-protection regime. Ultimately, the regulation of corporate reward programs should evolve into a multilayered framework in which judicial remedies, quasi-judicial mechanisms, administrative oversight and corporate self-regulation operate in a complementary manner to safeguard consumer interests.