South Korea has so far signed 16 FTAs with a total of 54 countries, starting with Chile in 2004. (image: Korea Bizwire/Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 6 out of 10 South Korean consumers think that free trade agreements (FTAs) have had a positive impact on the local market.
A survey of 3,000 men and women aged between 25 and 59 by the Korea Consumer Agency showed 67.5 percent of the respondents saying that FTAs had a positive impact on the local market, according to results released Monday.
The figure represents a 21.2 percentage point increase from the 46.3 percent reported in a 2015 survey.
South Korea has so far signed 16 FTAs with a total of 54 countries, starting with Chile in 2004.
The data also revealed that 87.5 percent of respondents thought fruit choice had improved, to top the list, while bottled water was the lowest with only 59.7 percent agreeing that there was more choice.
Alcohol was the highest at 66.4 percent for lowered price, while fruit products topped the list at 76.3 percent for better quality, according to the survey.
On the other hand, cosmetics at 26.6 percent were rated as having the lowest price drop, while bottled water at 38.3 percent was the lowest in quality improvement.
Liquor prices topped the list at 83.3 percent when it came to satisfaction rate, followed by health-function foods at 79 percent and fruits at 77.1 percent.
Those who said they regretted purchases due to safety or sanitation problems primarily mentioned fresh food products such as livestock products at 68.1 percent, fisheries products at 65 percent, and fruits at 63.2 percent.
Complaints of insufficient information provision were high among liquor products at 41.9 percent and pet products at 40 percent.
Another 52.1 percent of respondents said they had regretted a purchase because of complaints about its repair.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
