Research Reports
A Study on the Geographical Indication System for Promotion of Regional Industries
-
AuthorLee, Dongphill
-
Publication Date2011.11.30
-
Original
A geographical indication (GI) system was introduced to Korea in 1999 and Bo-Seong Green Tea was first registered with this system in 2002. Since then, the volume of GI-registered agricultural goods in Korea has increased tremendously, leading to one hundred twenty three products by May 2011. Additionally, a GI collective mark system was introduced in 2005. Currently, the two systems have similar characteristics and are used side by side.
This study seeks to examine the realities and issues of operating the Korean geographical indication system. The final purpose of this study is to find a way to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the system.
In order to examine how the geographical indication system is used, we performed intensive surveys and case studies of the organizations that were in charge of the registration. According to the results of surveys and case studies, local governments and producer organizations had together played leading roles in the registration of the geographical indication. However, once the registration was completed, the system did not work properly. The reason for this inadequate operation is twofold. While the effect of the geographical indication appears with a time lag, the system requires additional time and cost to be active. The producer organizations that registered their agricultural products with the geographical indication insist that more exposure of their products to consumers through the media such as TV or newspapers can yield a distinctive performance of the geographical indication system. In the meantime, appropriate management of product quality and a plenty number of personnel can guarantee the reputation of GI-registered products. However, each local government tries to register its agricultural products with both the geographical indication system and the GI collective mark system to achieve superficial outcomes. A survey on consumer recognition of the geographical indication confirms the need to promote it to consumers. Only fifteen percent of consumer respondents recognized the geographical indication, which leads to the conclusion that consumer recognition is very low. Consumer opinions are that more consumer promotion (39.1%) and strict management of product quality (26.1%) are required for the geographical indication to be a useful system.
The solutions for making the GI system effective can be summarized as follows: (1) reorganization of the current GI-registered products, (2) cautious selection of future GI-registered products, (3) exhaustive quality control and post-management of GI-registered products, (4) reinforcement of connection between the geographical indication and support policies for competitive regional industries, and (5) reorganization of the geographical indication system and the GI collective mark system.
Researchers: Dong-Phil Lee, Kyeong-Hwan Choi, Junpyo Hong
E-mail address: ldphil@krei.re.kr, kyeong@krei.re.kr, jhong@krei.re.kr
- Next
- A Study on Improving the School Food Services System
- Prev
- Analysis of Structural Change of Agricultural Trade for an FTA between Korea and China