지역특화산업 육성을 위한 지리적표시제도의 운영실태와 발전방안

Abstract

우리나라가 1999년 지리적표시제도를 도입하고 2002년 처음 지리적표시 등록을 시작한 이후 2011년 5월 현재 123개가 등록되어 있다. 양적으로만 보면 괄목할 만한 성과라고 할 수 있다. 또한 2005년부터는 상표법에 의한 지리적표시 단체표장제도도 도입되어 유사한 목적의 제도가 동시에 시행되고 있다. 그러나 양 제도의 시행이 지역특화산업 활성화에 얼마나 기여했는지는 파악되지 않았다. 오히려 양 제도의 중복 시행으로 시간과 비용이 늘어나고, 혼란을 초래하는 등 비효율적이라는 비판이 제기되기도 한다. 이러한 문제 제기는 그동안 지리적표시제도 전반에 대한 실태 파악과 그에 대한 적절한 조치가 이루어지지 않았기 때문이라고 판단된다. 이 연구의 목적은 지난 10여 년간 지리적표시제가 어떻게 등록·운영되었는지를 파악하고, 실효성 있는 제도로 발전하기 위한 개선 방안을 모색하는 것이다. 특히 지리적표시제의 운영 실태를 전면적으로 파악하였다는 데 이 연구의 또 다른 의의를 찾을 수 있다. 2011년 5월 현재 등록된 123개 품목 전체를 조사 대상으로 하였으나, 52개 품목에 대해서만 조사가 가능하였다. 이 자체가 지리적표시제 운영이 활발하지 않음을 보여주는 단적인 예라고 할 수 있다. 아무튼 이 연구 결과가 지리적표시제를 지역특화산업의 활성화에 기여할 수 있는 제도로 정착·발전시키는 데 기초자료로 활용되기를 기대한다.

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