Why a Consumer Committee Is Necessary

Let us establish a “Consumer Commission.” Because there is no government ministry that works for consumers, policies and laws that sacrifice consumer interests continue to proliferate. We need to create a separate agency that protects “consumer choice” from reckless regulation and safeguards consumer interests.

Government organizations are, of course, supposed to work for the people and for consumers. Therefore, in principle, there should be no need for a separate organization specifically representing consumer interests. Theoretically, that is true. Even so, there is an important reason why such an organization has become necessary: most ministries work for their own organizations.

We have now entered an era in which a government organization that works for “the interests of consumers” is needed. At present, ministries operate in ways that represent various interest groups. They increase regulations to expand their own influence, and in some cases work to facilitate the reemployment of former civil servants. In that process, consumer choice is diminished, and “a world for civil servants, by civil servants” is being created.

In our society, the influence of the civil service bureaucracy is greater than many realize. The government takes the lead in every field, and the private sector is increasingly unable to assert its autonomy. Because the structure makes it difficult for the private sector to act independently, it naturally becomes dependent on the government. In this power struggle among government organizations, consumers are being gradually marginalized. Therefore, there also needs to be a ministry that works for consumers in order to restore a balance of power.

Politicians always say, “the people’s choice comes first.” In a democratic society, that is only natural. But in reality, “consumer choice,” the concrete expression of “the people’s choice,” is repeatedly restricted and suppressed.

Just as the people’s choice is realized politically through elections, it is realized economically through consumer choice. This must be protected, and naturally it is not something the government should seek to control.

Taking away consumer choice is a serious wrong. It is arrogance for the government to force its own choices on consumers in the name of the public interest, in the name of protecting the vulnerable, or for one reason or another. Whether consumer choice is stripped away through regulation or the range of options is eliminated through public enterprises, infringing on consumer choice runs contrary to the order of a democratic society.

Because the Korea Consumer Agency is under the Fair Trade Commission, its efforts on behalf of consumers are bound to face limitations. It works for consumers only within government-approved transactions, and even then only with respect to some transactions. Consumers’ basic “welfare” is being infringed upon, and there is no effort to restore the choices that have been taken away from them. The Korea Consumer Agency is turning a blind eye to consumer harm caused by the fundamental erosion of consumer interests.

Efforts must be made to return to consumers and the public their “freedom to choose.” Protecting the public and consumers from the selfishness of government ministries and the privileges of interest groups is what the government must do right now.

Sung-no Choi, President of the Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: 소비자위원회가 필요한 이유

Author: Sung-no Choi

Date: 2022-12-12

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=25203