Consumer Agency Reports Sharp Increase in Consultations from Consumers Aged 60 and Over... Up 15.5% Year-on-Year

Impact of COVID-19... Increase in Consultations for Wedding Services and Health & Hygiene Products

Consumer Consultation Status Over the Past 3 Years.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The number of consumer consultations from elderly consumers aged 60 and over significantly increased last year. In particular, consultations related to wedding halls, dining out, overseas travel, health masks, and hand sanitizers rose due to the impact of COVID-19.

According to an analysis of consumer consultation data received by the Korea Consumer Agency's 1372 Consumer Counseling Center on the 4th, consultations from consumers aged 60 and over reached 85,986 cases last year, a 15.5% increase compared to the previous year. In contrast, consultations from consumers under 60 decreased by 2.7% to 588,719 cases last year. Since 2018, the average annual consultation growth rate has decreased by 3.8% for those under 60 but increased by 5.3% for those aged 60 and over.

Examining the top 100 consultation items from consumers aged 60 and over last year, consultations related to lifestyle and leisure product groups increased by an average of 20.5% annually over the past three years since 2018. This was followed by health, medical, and food (14.1%), and finance (10.9%) sectors, which showed high consultation growth rates.

Among individual items, consultations related to fresh fish showed the highest increase rate at 134.5%, followed by mobile information usage services (82.1%) and various household goods (64.85%). Complaints about fish and various household goods often involved purchases from similar home shopping services (businesses that broadcast product advertisements similar to home shopping on cable TV), where delivery was delayed or product quality differed from advertisements.

The highest number of consultation cases was for mobile phone services at 9,258, followed by investment advisory (consulting) at 8,415, and various health supplements at 5,977. Mobile phone service complaints were mostly about unexpectedly excessive billing. After media reports about foreign substances found in products or products being deemed unsuitable, many inquiries about refunds were made regarding mobile information usage services and investment advisory services.

Based on this analysis, the Korea Consumer Agency plans to produce and provide region-specific tailored information to support the establishment of elderly consumer policies and damage prevention activities by major metropolitan cities and provincial local governments.

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