The nation’s four major home shopping channels — CJ, Hyundai, GS and Woori — will be allowed to deal in not just foreign and used cars but also newly made domestic ones. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean automobiles will go on sale via TV home shopping networks starting in 2018 under a revised regulation, the government announced Monday.
The nation’s four major home shopping channels — CJ, Hyundai, GS and Woori — will be allowed to deal in not just foreign and used cars but also newly made domestic ones, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).
Currently, they are prohibited from selling new South Korean cars, as they are registered with the authorities as being engaged in the insurance sales business.
The existing rule is aimed at staving off unfair car sale activities using insurance products. But used and foreign car brands are immune to the regulation, a source of controversy over “reverse discrimination.”
In May, the government decided to lift the ban in a ministerial meeting on easing business-related restrictions.
It has delayed the revision to the rule, however, amid a strong backlash from traditional car dealerships.
The FSC said it will put the revision plan on public notice until Dec. 26 for the ensuing promulgation.
Such a new government regulation usually takes effect one year after being promulgated.
(Yonhap)
