방문판매법상 다단계판매 규제의 문제점과 개선방안 (Regulatory Issues of the Multi-level Sales In Korea)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국경쟁법학회
· 수록지 정보 : 경쟁법연구 / 19권 / 3 ~ 26페이지
· 저자명 : 이봉의

초록

경제규제법은 그 성격상 특정한 목적을 실현하기 위하여 사적자치를 제약하는 것이라는 점을 고려할 때, 방문판매법 또한 그 목적을 올바르게 인식하고 그에 맞는 규제수단을 강구할 필요가 있다. 따라서 다단계판매는 ‘다단계’ 그 자체가 아니라 무한히 연결되는 다단계구조를 가능케 하는 본질적 요소, 즉 자신이 모집하지 아니한 차차순위 판매원 등의 판매실적으로 경제적 이익을 얻는 수 있다고 권유하여 순차적으로 가입단계가 확장되는 것에 착안하여 접근할 필요가 있다. 다단계판매를 이와 같이 정의할 경우에 비로소 동법이 소비자보호의 목적에 충실하게 기여할 수 있음은 물론이다.

영어초록

The Door-to-Door Sales, etc. Act(hereafter "the Act") defines multi-level sales too broadly in that it contains all kinds of sales through a multi-sales organization which is to characterize by two elements; the stages of entry for salespersons thereto are three or more and the entry of salespersons is solicited by offering or promising to offer certain profits comprised of retail margin and managing allowance. This somewhat formalistic approach, not considering genuine dangers of each sales method, cannot distinguish normal door-to-door sales from sales unfairly luring customers, which is likely to result in over-regulation of overall sales methods and over-protection of salespersons, not consumer.
The Act should be revised for effective protection of consumer and efficient regulation of dangerous sales methods as following. First, multi-level sales should be defined not through a particular organization, but through soliciting behavior by offering or promising to offer unfair profits not based on sales performance. The number of stages of salespersons doesn't matter for the purpose of the Act. Second, door-to-door sales entails the danger of aggressive marketing and thereby irrational choice of consumer. However, administrative control cannot always fit for prevention and remedy of consumer damage from door-to-door sales and in principle civil law safeguards such as cooling-off and right to refund etc. could suffice. Third and finally, monetary transactions on the pretense of transactions regarding goods, etc. by using a multilevel sales organization or a similar multilevel organization comprised of persons who join such organization in stages could not be effectively regulated in the Act and they should be subject only to the criminal sanction under criminal law.

참고자료

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