[2020 National Audit] Consumer Damage Surges Due to COVID-19 "Processing Rate Declines Due to Staff Shortage"

Rapid Increase in Consumer Damage Relief and Dispute Mediation Cases Due to COVID-19
3-8 Staff Members Support 1-3 Metropolitan Areas, Leading to Growing Backlog
Assemblyman Yoon Kwan-seok Calls for Increased Consumer Agency Staffing and Expanded Regional Support

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] Although consumer damage relief claims have surged due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns have been raised that the processing rate has sharply declined due to a lack of personnel.

On the 9th, Yoon Kwan-seok, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee), analyzed the number of damage relief claims received and their processing status at the Korea Consumer Agency. According to the analysis, the number of damage relief claims received by six regional offices?Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, Daegu, Gangwon, Incheon, and Ulsan?excluding the Seoul and Gyeonggi offices, up to August this year, has already approached the total number of claims received throughout last year.

The average monthly number of damage relief claims has already exceeded last year's monthly average, and in particular, the Busan office received an average of 275 claims per month this year, an increase of 43 claims compared to 232 last year.

Accordingly, the damage relief processing rate (settlement rate) has also significantly declined. The Incheon office had a settlement rate of 58.3% last year, but this year, up to August, it dropped to 42.9%, a decrease of 15.4 percentage points. The Ulsan office fell by 11.1 percentage points, and the Daejeon office by 10.8 percentage points, with other regional offices also experiencing declines in settlement rates.

Representative Yoon stated, "While the number of damage relief requests has increased due to COVID-19, the personnel to handle them are insufficient, causing the processing rate to drop sharply."

Currently, it has been identified that the Korea Consumer Agency has between 3 to 8 personnel handling civil complaints at regional offices. With a small number of staff managing a large volume of damage relief processing and consumer protection projects simultaneously, the backlog of cases is increasing.

Representative Yoon emphasized, "The Korea Consumer Agency must increase its workforce and expand regional offices to implement community-based damage relief."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.