Pre-Review of 'Online False Medical Advertisements'... Office Building Defects Covered by Construction Company's Deposit

Pan-Government Consumer Policy Committee Recommends 'Consumer-Oriented System Improvement'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seonhee] The government has decided to expand pre-review of false and exaggerated advertisements by some medical institutions conducted through social networking services (SNS) and other channels. Additionally, it recommended the introduction of a related system requiring construction companies to deposit a 'defect repair guarantee deposit' for officetels, which are highly used by single-person households and young people, to enable prompt repairs using the deposit in case of problems.

The Consumer Policy Committee held a meeting at the Government Seoul Office on the 18th and deliberated and resolved four agenda items, including the "Evaluation Results of the 2020 Consumer Policy Comprehensive Implementation Plan" and "Consumer-Oriented System Improvement Recommendations," the Office for Government Policy Coordination announced.

The Consumer Policy Committee is a pan-government consumer policy control tower composed of ministers from eight related ministries including the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, private members, and the head of the Korea Consumer Agency. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and Seoul National University Professor Yeo Jeong-seong serve as co-chairpersons representing the government and the private sector, respectively.

The "Consumer-Oriented System Improvement Tasks" approved on this day included recommendations such as introducing a system requiring officetel constructors to deposit defect repair guarantee deposits and establishing recommended standards for installing exhaust facilities to resolve inconveniences caused by odors and cigarette smoke between officetel units.

Furthermore, to prevent consumer damage caused by false and exaggerated advertisements, the scope of pre-review, which was previously limited to offline advertisements such as newspapers and magazines and internet media with "more than 100,000 users," will be expanded.

It also recommended measures to prevent the distribution of bottled water unsuitable for drinking due to violations of water quality standards and to prepare recall plans for prompt recovery of already distributed unsuitable bottled water. Relatedly, the method of public announcement to quickly provide information to consumers is also a target for improvement.

For major seafood products with a high import ratio and strong consumer interest in origin, such as sea squirts (meongge), yellowtail (bangeo), and snow crab (daege), it recommended expanding and organizing origin labeling in restaurants.

The Consumer Policy Committee also strengthened business standards related to companion animals. In the case of companion animal sales, it prohibited selling without showing the actual animal to the buyer and made veterinary examinations mandatory for animals sold at auctions. For companion animal grooming businesses, it mandated the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) to monitor the condition of animals during grooming and the retention of recorded footage for 30 days.

Meanwhile, the evaluation of last year's implementation performance conducted by the Consumer Policy Committee covered a total of 169 policies (137 central, 32 local). As a result, 73 tasks (43.2%) received an "excellent" or higher rating.

Prime Minister Kim said, "The non-face-to-face and digital economy has accelerated due to COVID-19, and with the increase of the younger generation and single-person households, consumption patterns have changed, leading to greater public demand for health and safety than ever before. The government will strengthen the consumer hazard monitoring system in areas closely related to people's lives such as food, medical care, and housing to create a market environment where transactions can be made with confidence."

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