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Fifty-eight companies and organizations selected as excellent service quality companies

Samsung Medical Center won the 2007 Excellent Service Quality Company Award from the Korea Standards Association (KSA). Samsung Medical Center, SK Telecom and Everland Resort have retained the No. 1 position in their respective category for the eighth consecutive year.
Sogang University and Myongji College topped their new business survey categories.
KSA announced the outcome of the 2007 Korea Standard-Service Quality Index (KS-SQI) and held an award-presenting ceremony at the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel in Seoul on September 19. Among 500 participants of the ceremony were KSA Chairman Lee Gye-hyung and award winners.
A KS-SQI survey of 70,000 consumers was conducted in 288 companies in 50 service and public organization categories through individual interviews and Internet panel surveys for three months from this past May. Fifty-eight companies and organizations which topped each category were selected as award winners.
KSA Chairman Lee said, "Given the reality that the service industry accounts for a large segment, the KS-SQI Survey was expanded in 2005 to include public administration areas and universities were put on the survey list starting this year."Samsung Medical Center got 88.9 points, about 20 points higher than the average of 69.1 points to be designated as the excellent service quality company for the eighth consecutive year. SK Telecom and Everland Resort topped the mobile telecommunication and theme park categories. Samsung Electronics Service Center placed first in home appliance service, mobile handset and computer after-sale sectors, while Kyobo Book Center topped the large-scale bookstore and Internet bookstore categories.
Samsung Corp. Construction Division, Korea Air, Shinsegae Department Store and Woori Investment & Securities, which placed second place for the seventh consecutive year until last year, topped the apartment, airline, department store and investment & securities categories. Sogang University and Myongji College captured the No. 1 position in the newly added four-year university and college sectors.
By category, hotels were given the highest rating with 78.7 points, followed by general hospitals, home appliance services, airlines, mobile handsets, apartments and Internet bookstores in that order.
The KS-SQI survey, developed by KSA and Seoul National University Management Research Institute, is conducted every year since 2000 with the goal of strengthening competitiveness of the service industry and improving customers'living quality.
Assessment factors include principal services, unexpected extra services, reliability, kindness, aggressive support, access availability and physical environment.
A KSA official said the assessment portion of cyber customers has been raised to 50 percent, the same as off-line customers in order to reflect the views of netizens who emerge as a leading consumer force. nw

Award winners of the 2007 Korea Standard-Service Quality Index (KS-SQI)