소비자의 금융소외에 관한 연구: 금융상품과 거래채널을 중심으로

서가연 ( Seo Gayeon ),최현자 ( Choe Hyuncha ) 한국소비자학회 2019 소비자학연구 Vol.30 No.2

The study aims to examine the experiences of financially excluded consumers in the Korean market. The data of financial consumers from the twenties to the sixties has been collected via online survey. The result shows that about 65% of the respondents have experienced financial exclusion at least once. In detail, 67.7% of respondents have most experienced in investment products, followed by insurance products(42.7%), loans(21.6%), and savings accounts(21.3%). Psychological factors affected financial exclusion of the investment products market. The burden on transaction costs and the selection confusion in various products variables were distinguishing in insurance products. Considering that the level of financial literacy and the subjective financial transaction competency were high in the group of financial exclusion in loans, it could be assumed that the influence of an external transaction environment caused the financial exclusion. In terms of transaction methods, there was a statistically significant difference between face-to-face and non-face to face transactions. The selection confusion and the age variables had positive effects on financial exclusion of non-face to face transaction groups. Based on the results, the financial exclusion has not been caused by not only a monetary deficit or a limitation of credit use, however, also the factors such as low confidence and characteristics of financial products. In conclusion, aspects and causes of financial exclusion were different according to the financial products and transaction methods, thus it could be concluded that the attempt to define financial exclusion as an expanded concept in this study was effective.

금융시장에서의 소비자소외에 관한 탐색적 연구

서가연 ( Seo Gayeon ),최현자 ( Choe Hyuncha ),한지형 ( Han Jihyung ) 한국소비자학회 2019 소비자학연구 Vol.30 No.5

With increasing interest in financial inclusion, various entities are trying to bring up solutions to protect vulnerable consumers in financial markets. Most of these policies are generally targeting consumers who are in relatively vulnerable positions based on certain criteria such as low-income or young people in society. However, when it comes to the nature of the financial market that financial products are complicated and the range of information that can be understood by consumers is limited, there must be more general efforts to embrace both vulnerable consumers and other consumers. In other words, in addition to the policy for vulnerable consumers, efforts to improve the whole market environment itself are required. This study started with the idea that the majority of consumers who are not eligible for qualified policies in the financial market may also experience various problems considering the characteristics of the financial market mentioned above. In that matter, it has been examined the subjective perceptions of financial markets by measuring the level of consumer alienation, which consumers feel in the financial market. In this study, financial consumers in their 20s and 60s were selected as a sample to measure the level and causes of consumer alienation. The sampling was conducted based on gender, age, and residence among Korean demographic characteristics. A total of 529 copies were collected by the online survey method, and 526 responses were selected except for unfaithful responses. The results are as follows. According to previous research, the concept of consumer alienation is composed of various dimensions such as powerlessness, meaninglessness, and normlessness, etc. In this study, exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine consumer alienation from various dimensions. It was divided into two sub-dimensions: one is ‘normlessness’ and the other is ‘meaninglessness.’ ‘Normlessness’ means that companies are not responsible for social values and focus on pursuing monetary values. ‘Meaninglessness’ indicates that consumers experience difficulties in making effective decisions as they feel that they are not able to access certain information or services. However, to match the right words for the original meanings, those concepts have been renamed as ‘structural alienation’ and ‘personal alienation.’ Based on this concept structure, this study first examined the overall level of consumer alienation in the market. The level of consumer alienation was 3.73 out of 5, indicating that the level of consumer alienation exceeded the average in the financial market. Looking at each dimension in detail, the structural alienation dimension is 3.88 out of 5 points and the personal alienation dimension is 3.58 points. These results show that consumers evaluate that negative experiences in financial markets are more derived from financial companies than themselves. Therefore, consumers are expected to conduct unsatisfactory financial activities because financial companies do not operate in a consumer-centric manner. Next, multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relative influence of factors affecting consumer alienation. The independent variables were listed below: demographic characteristics of consumers including income, house-ownership, gender, age, education and also financial characteristics of consumers such as financial literacy, risk tolerance, etc. It turned out that age, financial literacy, cost burden for continuous transactions, and technology usage capacity. If consumers who are financially affordable or have needs and higher financial literacy, they tend to be more unsatisfied driven by profit-oriented business behavior or selective information provision from financial companies in financial markets. This implies that inequality in the trading position, which is a typical problem in the financial market, still exists today. Therefore, efforts are needed to find various alternatives to overcome this gap in the financial market. According to the analysis of personal alienation, the level of alienation was higher in the case of women, feeling a high-cost burden for continuous financial transactions, having the higher technology usage capability or greater dissatisfaction in the market. On the other hand, if consumers have more tendency to pursue risk or stronger belief that they can do their financial transactions, the level of personal alienation went lower. Taken together, these results suggest that factors such as confidence or the psychological characteristics necessary to make decisions to determine the level of alienation. Besides, considering that investment products tend to have a significant tendency to increase personal alienation, it is necessary to systematically establish a proactive and ex-post consumer protection system. Finally, in the time of increasing non-face-to-face transactions with the advent of the fintech, the result that the higher the level of technology use, the higher the level of consumer dissatisfaction, implies that apps for financial transactions are not friendly enough for consumers to use. This study has its own strength in terms of measuring the level of dissatisfaction that consumers experience in the process of financial transactions. Moreover, it was the first trial to adopt the concept of consumer alienation to the financial market. In future studies, it is essential to constitute a more sophisticated scale to measure consumer alienation from a deeper perspective.

금융소비자시민성의 개념 정립과 척도 개발 연구

강지영 ( Kang Jiyoung ),서가연 ( Seo Gayeon ),최현자 ( Choe Hyuncha ) 한국금융소비자학회 2021 금융소비자연구 Vol.11 No.3

금융소비자는 시장의 한 주체로서 오늘날 금융시장이 지향하는 금융포용, 지속가능성의 가치를 달성하기 위하여 개인의 이익 뿐만 아니라 공공의 이익을 고려하여 의사 결정을 내려야 한다. 이는 곧 개개인이 실천적 차원에서 적절한 권리를 행사하려는 태도와 주어진 책임을 다하려는 태도를 내재화한다는 의미로, 이러한 자질을 갖춘 소비자는 현 시대가 요구하는 시민적 자질을 갖춘 소비자 시민으로 거듭난다고 할 수 있다. 이러한 시대적 배경 아래 금융소비자시민성 개념 논의의 필요성이 대두되었고, 본 연구에서는 금융소비자시민성을 “금융화 사회를 살아가는 금융시장의 구성원으로서 금융포용과 지속가능성의 가치를 바탕으로 개인의 이익뿐만 아니라 공공의 선과 공동체의 이익을 위해 개인적 그리고 사회적 책임을 다하고 적절하게 권리를 행사하려는 마음가짐”으로 정의하고 척도를 개발하였다. 금융소비자시민성은 개인적 금융소비자 권리의식, 사회적 금융소비자 권리의식, 개인적 금융소비자 책임의식, 사회적 금융소비자 책임의식 등 4개 차원으로 구분하였고, 각 차원에 필요한 세부 권리의식과 책임의식을 구성하여 18개 영역을 도출하였다. 영역별 척도 검증 과정을 거쳐 확정된 최종 금융소비자시민성은 4개 차원 18개 영역 54문항으로 구성하였다. 본 연구는 금융소비자시민성의 개념을 정립하고 사회적 차원에서 금융소비자가 필요한 역량, 특히 태도에 대해 심층적으로 탐구하였다는데 의의가 있다. As the sustainability of the financial market is one of the ongoing issues today, it is not enough for financial consumers to only pursue their own needs while making financial decisions. Demands for achieving financial inclusion make financial consumers contemplate a new role as one of the subjects in the market. With this consideration, this study aims to suggest a new concept of financial consumer citizenship and develop a scale to measure the level of financial consumer citizenship. Financial Consumer Citizenship is an attitude to recognize one’s rights and responsibilities for meeting both personal and public interests based on the merit of financial inclusion and sustainability as a member of the financial market. This concept consists of four sub-areas: personal rights consciousness, social rights consciousness, personal responsibilities consciousness, social responsibilities consciousness. These four sub-areas divide into eighteen items measured by fifty-four questions.

금융시장 내 블랙컨슈머에 관한 개념 고찰

조혜진 ( Cho Hyejin ),서가연 ( Seo Gayeon ) 한국금융소비자학회 2021 금융소비자연구 Vol.11 No.3

본 연구는 금융시장에서 시장 질서를 저해하는 소비자 집단인 ‘블랙컨슈머’에 대한 구체적 고찰과 사회적 합의가 미비하다는데 주목하고 체계적인 개념과 용어 정립을 시도함으로써 금융소비자가 책임을 다하고 권리를 존중받는 금융시장이 되기 위한 지향점을 제시하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 블랙컨슈머라는 용어는 금융시장을 비롯하여 시장의 여러 권역에서 거래상대방 혹은 민원처리기관에 의도적이고 반복적으로 불만을 표출하고 영업행위를 방해하는 소비자를 지칭하는 의미로 통용되어 왔다. 그런데 해당 단어는 원어의 의미가 흑인 소비자를 의미하기 때문에 오해의 소지가 있다. 더욱이 최근에는 사회에서 소비자가 입은 피해에 대한 이의와 불만을 제기하는 다양한 유형의 소비자를 구분 없이 가리키는 수단으로 이용되어 불만호소행동을 하는 소비자의 하위집단의 경계를 모호하게 만든다는 난점이 있다. 이러한 문제의식에서 비롯하여 본 연구는 선행연구 고찰을 바탕으로 블랙컨슈머 행동을 불만호소행동, 소비자의 비윤리적 행동 등의 개념적 차원에서 접근하였다. 기존의 블랙컨슈머 용어는 ‘문제행동소비자’로 대체하여 부르고 문제행동의 요건을 불법성, 기만성, 억지성, 과도성, 상습성으로 구분하였다. 정리하면 '문제행동소비자'란 고의적으로 거래 상대방에게 정신적 혹은 물질적 피해를 끼치면서 자신의 이익을 과도하게 추구하는 부적절한 불만호소행동을 하는 소비자를 의미한다. 문제행동소비자가 시장에서 불필요한 사회적 비용을 발생시키는 것을 차단하기 위해서는 통일된 가이드라인 제작 및 법체계 마련 등의 노력이 필요하고, 소비자에게 적절한 불만호소행동을 할 수 있는 사회적 분위기를 형성함과 동시에 부적절한 행동을 인지할 수 있도록 하는 교육이 지속적으로 이루어져야 한다. The term “black consumer” generally means consumers who deceptively or abusively carry one’s point to service providers. This term could be controversial in that “black” often means persons perceived as comparatively dark-skinned in English-speaking countries. Though there are necessities to reconsider the word, this “black consumer” issue should be deeply dealt with as they disrupt the market order and cause inconvenience to other consumers by excessively complaining. In this regard, the study suggests a new term considered to name this group and systematize the existing but ambiguous concept of “black consumer” based on broader concepts such as consumer complaint behavior, unethical consumer behavior, financial consumer-oriented fraud. We replace the current word “black consumer” with “problem behavioral consumer’”, which is very close to the concept of deviant consumer but the different word choice considering the context of its connotation and the societal trend. Also, this concept is valid when consumer behaviors include the traits of repetitiveness, insistence, deception, and excessiveness. In summary, “problembehavioral consumer” refers to a consumer who deliberately causes mental or material damage to the service providers and inappropriately complains to make undue profits. Preventing these consumers from incurring unnecessary social costs in the market is essential. Unified guidelines among financial companies and legal restrictions are needed. Meanwhile, there should be sufficient education opportunities to let consumers know the proper ways to complain appropriately.

신용상담 및 신용교육의 현황 분석과 개선방안에 관한 연구

정운영 ( Jeong Woon Young ),서가연 ( Seo Gayeon ) 한국금융소비자학회 2018 금융소비자연구 Vol.8 No.3

본 연구는 국내외 신용상담 및 신용교육의 현황을 분석함으로서 앞으로 신용상담 및 교육이 어떠한 방향으로 나아가야 할지에 대한 몇 가지 개선방안을 제시하고자 하였다. 첫째, 신용상담과 교육을 담당하는 기관들의 장점을 고려하여 네트워킹을 통해 금융소비자를 위한 시너지 효과를 창출해야 한다. 둘째, 개인 및 가계의 상황에 따른 맞춤형 신용상담과 교육이 이루어져야 한다. 셋째, 신용상담과 신용교육은 사전예방적 차원과 사후적 차원을 균형있게 추구해 나가야 한다. 넷째, 신용교육은 시민의식교육으로 확장되어야 한다. 다섯째, 현장에서 가장 중요한 역할을 담당하는 신용상담과 교육 전문가를 중장기적인 계획을 가지고 양성해야 한다. 여섯째, 가계안정과 미래지향적 신용상담과 교육을 위한 생태계를 조성하도록 정부, 금융회사, 금융소비자, 비영리 시민단체들의 긴밀한 협력이 필요하다. The purpose of this study is to analyze the present situation of credit counseling and credit education at home and abroad, and to suggest some ways of how credit counseling and education should proceed in the future. First, we need to create synergies for financial consumers through building networks considering the advantages of credit counseling and education related institutions. Second, customized credit counseling and education should be carried in terms of individual and household situations. Third, credit counseling and education should pursue a balance between preventive and post - crisis levels. Fourth, credit education should be extended to citizenship education. Fifth, credit counselors and education specialists, who play the most important roles in the field, should be trained with mid- to long-term plans. Sixth, closer coordination between government, financial institutions, financial consumers, and non-profit organizations is needed to create an ecosystem for household stability and future-oriented credit counseling and education.

게임을 이용하는 동기에 따른 소비자 유형 구분과 유형별 차이

고대균 ( Ko Daekyun ),한지형 ( Han Jihyung ),서가연 ( Seo Gayeon ) 한국소비자학회 2019 소비자학연구 Vol.30 No.4

This study aimed to understand consumers in the newly changing market environment of the game industry by dividing the types of consumers and examining their characteristics, focusing on the reasons and motives of playing games. First, a comprehensive questionnaire was designed to measure the motives of consumers to play games. The types of consumers were classified based on the motives, and the differences in behaviors of each type were figured. In order to verify that the constructed scale was logically valid, opinions were asked to a consumer science specialist and an industry expert, who has been working in the game industry for about eight years. In this study, an online survey was conducted based on the measures prepared through the above process. The survey was aimed at adults playing games from 10s to over 50s. A total of 523 data was analyzed. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted, and cluster analysis, classification analysis, variance analysis, and group difference analysis were conducted to analyze the differences that appeared by each type. The conclusion was as follows. First, consumers’ motives playing games consisted of sub-dimensions such as ‘Spending time,’ ‘Being liberated from everyday life,’ ‘Enjoyment,’ ‘Economic benefit,’ ‘Retaining relationship,’ ‘Expansion of relationship,’ ‘Showing off,’ ‘Achievement and self-esteem,’ ‘Integrity satisfaction’ and ‘Altruism’. It showed that consumers perceived games as complex activities, not just entertainment. In the context of ERG theory, the level of motive corresponding to the desire of existence was the highest, followed by the desire of growth and the desire of relatedness. Second, by deriving four types of consumer-groups based on various levels of game motives, it was found that consumers played games through different motives. The four types of consumers were named ‘Multi-dimensional Pursuit,’ ‘Simple Amusement,’ ‘Relationship-oriented,’ and ‘Achievement-oriented’ in consideration of the level of motives to play games. The ‘Multi-dimensional Pursuit’ type had a higher level of motive than any other type. ‘Simple Amusement’ type was a type with a high motive for spending time or pursuing pleasure. ‘Relationship-oriented’ type was similar to the ‘Simple Amusement’, however, more motivated to maintain surrounding relationships. Lastly, ‘Achievement-oriented’ had not only a higher level of motive for existence, at the same time, intellectual sufficiency or altruism. Third, consumers who played games had very different characteristics according to the four types of consumers mentioned above. First of all, ‘Multi-dimensional Pursuit’ type was a type that has a high level of positive perception of games and preferred games that require a relatively constant focus to simple games so that they preferred PC games over mobile. They also tended to play games with friends than alone. They visited the PC room more often than other types and also played games for a relatively long time. In addition, consumers belonging to this group actively explored information related to games through game communities, watched videos related to games, and frequently bought items needed in games. In other words, this type was the passionate consumer type that focused on games through various motives. ‘Achievement-oriented’ consumers preferred role-playing games as well as web board and puzzle games. Because of the relatively high level of motive that corresponded to the desire for growth, they seemed to prefer games that focused on building characters. Also, PC games and mobile games were used in a balanced manner. They usually played alone at home rather than with others. This type of consumers played games for a relatively long time once started. They also actively utilized online game communities to collect useful information. By purchasing paid items actively, they tended to fulfill the needs of the growth via playing games. ‘Relationship-oriented’ preferred games that could be played with other people, such as sports games or strategic games. Therefore, it was more common for them to play games with friends together. They actively exchanged game-related information with friends. The satisfaction with the game was relatively high, and the perception of the game was neutral. Meanwhile, they tended to enjoy games at an appropriate level with the main purpose of maintaining socialrelationships. Lastly ‘Simple Amusement’ type mainly played mobile games rather than PC games. Most of them enjoyed casual games, which could be enjoyed pretty lightly. Also, they usually played at home alone for a shorter time. This type had a lower monetary expenditure level than other types. In other words, it could be said that they enjoyed games in order to spend the remaining leisure time. These characteristics needed to be reflected in the game industry in the near future to pursue a more consumer-oriented environment. Considering the attempt of this study to focus on the fundamental motives of consumers playing games, game companies ought to establish effective business strategies, at the same time, consumers would be involved to create a consumer-friendly market environment. Moreover, the government is asked to support the development of the game industry. As this study focused on the motives of consumers to play games, it did not include some parts of consumer behaviors such as excessive game playing or addiction. It is proposed to consider these extended issues in further studies.

미등록대부업 이용 금융소비자의 특성: 등록대부업 이용 금융소비자와의 비교를 중심으로

곽민주(Minjoo Gwak),김민정(Minjeung Kim),서가연(Gayeon Seo),한지형(Jihyung Han) 한국FP학회 2021 Financial Planning Review Vol.14 No.3

본 연구는 대부업(등록/미등록)을 이용한 금융소비자의 특성을 파악하고, 이들이 서민지원금융이나 등록대부업체를 이용하지 않은(또는 못한) 이유와 선택 방법 등을 파악함으로써 불법사금융 이용으로 인한 피해 예방 및 금융당국의 불법사금융 관리감독 등에 대해 정책적 함의를 도출하고자 하였다. 연구의 주요 결론은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 불법사금융 이용가능성이 높은 집단으로 가구주의 연령이 50대 가계, 가구주의 최종학력이 고등학교 졸업인 가계, 자영업자 가계, 이혼이나 사별, 별거한 가구, 가구원수가 2인 이하인 가계, 월소득이 300만원 이하인 가계가 도출되었다. 향후 각 집단에 맞는 대출이용 정보제공 및 교육이 필요할 것이다. 둘째, 금융소비자들이 불법대부 이용에 대한 올바른 지식을 갖도록 금융교육을 강화하고, 그들의 니즈 및 특성에 부합하는 정보를 효율적으로 찾을 수 있도록 하는 통일되고 체계적인 정보지원시스템을 구축할 필요가 있다. 셋째, 제1,2금융권 또는 등록대부업체에서 신용이용이 거절되거나 제한되는 경우 해당 금융소비자에게 정책지원프로그램 및 서민금융제도에 대한 정보를 안내하도록 권고함으로써 대부이용자들이 적어도 미등록대부(불법사금융)를 이용하지 않도록 도와주는 역할을 할 수 있을 것으로 생각된다. 넷째, 대부이용자의 대부금 주사용처로 유흥 및 오락자금으로 응답한 이용자가 전체의 10% 정도이며 다른 대출금을 상환하기 위해서라고 응답한 경우도 21% 정도에 달한다. 이에 비합리적 대부이용 행태를 개선하기 위하여 대출기관-재무상담 기관의 연계를 추진할 필요가 있다. 다섯째, 대부이용자의 대부업체 인지경로를 살펴본 결과 인터넷, 지인, TV광고를 통해 알게 된 경우가 많았고 특히 미등록대부 이용자의 경우에는 지인을 통해 업체를 인지한 경우가 압도적으로 높았다. 이에 등록대부에 대한 광고 규제 및 미등록대부에 대한 관리감독이 필요할 것이다. 특히 미등록업체 이용에 대해서는 불법사금융 이용에 대한 경고, 등록대부와 미등록대부의 구별 필요성 인식 향상 및 관련 정보 제공, 보다 실효성 있는 금융소비자 지향적인 확인 방법을 모색할 필요가 있다. 마지막으로 금융소비자가 등록/미등록대부를 쉽게 구분할 수 있는 방법을 고민하여 금융소비자들이 별도의 사이트 등을 통해 확인하지 않더라도 등록여부를 구분지을 수 있는 방안을 모색하는 것도 고려해야 한다. The purpose of this study is to prevent damage caused by financial consumers using illegal private finance use and improve the financial authorities" illegal private finance by identifying reasons why financial consumers using unregistered loan companies did not (or failed) to use low-income support finance or registered loans. This study provides policy implications for management and supervision of illegal private finance by Korean financial authorities. The main conclusions of the study are as follows. First, households in their 50s, high school graduates, self-employed households, divorced or widowed, separated households, households with two or fewer members, and households with a monthly income of 3 million won or less may be the most vulnerable groups to the possibility of using illegal private finance. A variety of household characteristics show us the importance of providing customized loan information and education for each group. Second, it will be necessary to strengthen financial education so that financial consumers have the proper knowledge concerning the use of illegal loans, and to establish a unified and systematic information system so that they can efficiently find information that meets their needs. Third, as an alternative to the refusal/restriction of credit use in the first and second financial institutions or registered lending companies, it is recommended that financial consumers subject to loan restrictions be informed about government loans and low-income financial institutions, so that loan users can receive a registered loan. This will play a role in helping people avoid using unregistered loans (illegal finance). Fourth, about 10% of the users responded with entertainment and entertainment funds as the place of loan injection for loan users, and about 21% of those answered that it was to repay other loans. It is strongly recommended to promote the linkage between lending institutions and financial counseling institutions to improve irrational loan use behavior. Fifth, as a result of examining the recognition pathways of loan users, most found information through the Internet, acquaintances, and TV advertisements. As seen above, information sources affect the financial decisions of loan users as well as the overall quality of their lives. Therefore, there needs to be much more effort to supervise the potentially harmful effects of imprecise possible sources such as information from acquaintances of the internet. Also, to raise awareness of the necessity of distinguishing between registered and unregistered loans, it is necessary to devise more effective ways to allow consumers differentiate registered loans from unregistered loans.