수입차, 본사가 문제다

최근 공정거래위원회에서 착수한 수입차에 대한 전방위 조사가 큰 파문을 일으키고 있다.

업계에서는 억울하다는 하소연도 있지만, 이번 조사는 한국에서 판매하는 수입차에 대한 여러가지 측면을 조명하고 있다.

첫째는 수입차에 대한 일반 국민의 생각이다.
수입차 판매가 시장의 20%를 차지고 있으며, 시장점유율도 10%나 되지만, 여전히 한국 소비자들은 수입 차에 대한 로망만을 간직채, 구입은 꿈도 못 꾸고 있는 형편이다. 이런 상황에서 수입 차는 매년 매출이 오른다고 자랑이다. 그러면서 부품비, 도정비는 국내차보다 여전히 높다. 여기에 한국인의 정서법이 작용하면서, 탈 수도 없는 수입차에 이제는 소비자를 우롱한 괘씸죄가 추가된 셈이다.

둘째는 수입차의 책임의식이다.
일부 브랜드를 제외하고, 대부분의 수입차는 말그대로 잘 나가고 있다. 반면, 사회공헌은 매출에 훨씬 못 미친다. 미미하게나마 활동하지만, 소비자의 인식은 여전히 싸늘하다. 기업의 사회적 책임이 이미 당연시되는 시점에서 수입차가 한국, 그리고 한국 소비자에 대한 어떤 책임의식을 가져왔는지 생각해보게 된다.

셋째는 경제 민주화다.
경제민주화는 이제 바꿀 수 없는 대세다. 여론에 따라, 그리고 기업에 따라 강도가 달라질지언정, 기조 자체가 바뀌기는 어렵다.이런 기조하에서, 딜러를 압박하고 부품가격을 올리는 등의 불공정거래에 대한 의문이 든다면, 조사는 당연하다.

수입차도 억울한 점이 왜 없겠는가. 주어진 환경에서 나름대로 할 만큼 하는데, 돌아오는 것은 비난과 공정위의 칼날이다.

해답은 본사에 있다.
수입차 본사들은 한국시장을 황금알을 낳는 거위정도로 인식한다는 비판은 예전부터 존재했다. 이제 부터라도 한국시장에 대한 존중과 책임의식을 새로이 다진다면, 이번 조사도 위기가 아닌 기회가 될 수 있다.

(코리아헤럴드 김지현 기자)





<관련 영문 기사>


Imported cars, yet another target? 


By Kim Ji-hyun

Korea has become a haven for imported cars, which make up approximately 20 percent of the local car industry in terms of sales.

Once a rarity, it’s now easy to spot cars of a wide assortment of foreign brands, ranging from the more accessible BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi to the super-posh Porsches and Jaguars. You name it, it’s bound to be running on Korean streets.

But perhaps due to the extreme luxury they stand for, imported cars have also been a target for heavy criticism, mostly involving their prices — most imported brands are pricier in Korea than in their homelands, which is the reverse of homegrown car brands that sell at lower prices abroad — and they demand high maintenance costs, prices that far exceed those for maintaining a local brand.

The Fair Trade Commission has decided to address these matters once and for all by recently launching a quiet but menacing investigation into top imported cars.

Silent determination could be sensed from the clipped “we’ll do our best” from the officials in charge of the probe who declined to say more on the pending case.

While the agency has conducted investigations in the past, such a sweeping probe was unprecedented.

They will look into how auto parts for imported cars cost many times those of local brands, and allegations that the carmakers have formed a cartel on the interest rates they charge for monthly installments.

However, that may not be all.

Koreans are known to be quite emotional, and in this country, there is another set of laws called the “emotion-law.”

It basically means that social codes of conduct are frequently decided by the emotions or spirit of the times.

And right now, regardless of whether President Park Geun-hye will stick to her guns or not, economic democratization is the key word.

Creating a legal basis where everyone has an equal shot at prosperity is the ultimate goal of this initiative, but it also is a reflection of the growing resentment toward the upper class, which unlike in many other advanced countries, refuses to practice noblesse oblige.

For the majority of the Korean public who still cannot afford imported cars, the vehicles are a painful symbol of what they cannot get. But not only are they inaccessible, they also appear to be playing tricks on the consumers with exaggerated parts prices.

What’s more, many of the imported cars that bragged of their high-flying sales in Korea last year are expected to post deficits, which can only mean one thing: the profit is being soaked up by the headquarters.

As the outspoken head of a smaller imported brand recently blurted out, the Korean offices may be being used as a cashcow for the carmakers’ global operations.

In their defense, foreign brand cars here try to take part in social contributions and in general pursue what they think they should do to prove they are worthy stakeholders in Korea.

But their headquarters may have other thoughts, which may explain the widespread recognition here that foreign brands are still far too unwilling to accept the local customs and perceive Koreans as truly valued customers.

The commission’s investigation, along with being a part of the economic democratization drive, may thus serve another purpose: as a wake up for the car makers’ out-of-the-country headquarters to realize their idea of localization is meaningless if it doesn’t correspond with what Korean consumers want.

(jemmie@heraldcorp.com)