"Single-Member Mediation for Claims Under 2 Million Won"...Small Dispute Remedies to Be Sped Up Through Single-Member Mediation

Framework Act on Consumers Amendment Passes National Assembly Plenary Session on the 12th
Single-Member Mediation Allowed for Small Cases Under 2 Million Won

Remedies for small-scale consumer damages, which had long been sluggish, will be significantly expedited, and when businesses flatly refuse to accept settlement proposals, the Korea Consumer Agency will now be able to directly support lawsuits.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission announced that on the 12th, the National Assembly passed in a plenary session an amendment to the Framework Act on Consumers, the key points of which are the introduction of a single-member mediation system and the explicit establishment of a legal basis for consumer litigation support. This amendment focuses on improving both the speed and the effective implementation of remedies for damages as actually experienced by consumers.

The biggest change is the introduction of the single-member mediation system. Previously, at least three commissioners had to convene to hold a dispute mediation meeting. Going forward, however, for small cases involving less than 2 million won where the facts are clear, a single mediation commissioner will be able to carry out expedited mediation. This is expected to shorten the dispute-handling period and allow more personnel and time to be concentrated on large-scale dispute cases.

A chronic problem has also found a solution: cases in which remedies were derailed because businesses rejected the settlement proposals of the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee. A legal basis has now been established for the Korea Consumer Agency to support lawsuits that consumers file against businesses. Until now, the agency had assisted consumers only indirectly, for example by providing litigation representation and drafting complaints through its in-house litigation support panel of attorneys.

The consumer safety system has also been further tightened. Even before the risk level of goods and similar items is finally determined, if an urgent danger is anticipated, the Korea Consumer Agency will be able to proactively provide hazard information to the relevant central administrative agencies. This is expected to resolve the previous problem of missing the optimal response window due to restrictions on information sharing before risks were officially identified. In addition, the name of the Consumer Centered Management (CCM) certification will be changed to a designation system to clarify the nature of the scheme, and when the period for handling damage remedies is extended, businesses will be legally required to notify consumers of the reasons and the new deadline, thereby strengthening consumers' right to know.

The amended law will be promulgated after a resolution by the Cabinet Council and will take effect six months from the date of promulgation.

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