Issue In South Korea Research Articles

Prosecution Reform in South Korea: Elections, Independent Prosecutors, Expanded Police Powers, and Grand Juries

Prosecutorial independence is a major political issue in South Korea. Ending prosecutorial politicization has been debated for decades and is understood as crucial for enhancing the quality of democracy. President Moon Jae-In has recently pushed through several changes. This paper explains Korea’s prosecutorial reform discourse and the new reforms. Reformists have argued that the centralized, bureaucratic nature of Korea’s prosecution system facilitates its top-down politicization. To remedy this, they have advocated for adopting measures to decentralize and even democratize the Prosecutors’ Office. From a comparative perspective, prosecution reform involves a clash of Continental European versus Anglo-American styles of prosecutorial organization. Reformers, disenchanted with the Continental tradition, have challenged the legitimacy of their German-Japanese derived system and looked to the common law tradition for solutions to prosecutorial independence problems. While not naive about the drawbacks of aspects of Anglo-American prosecutorial organization, they have welcomed ideas on decentralizing and democratizing the prosecution. That reformers are the ideological descendants of the democratization movement has encouraged such thinking. An unspoken dilemma of Korea’s prosecutorial reform saga has thus been: should reforms *improve* bureaucratic accountability or *introduce* democratic accountability? This paper explains Korea’s prosecution reforms relating to personnel management, investigations, and charging authority. It analyzes competing bureaucratizing and democratizing ideas, including new regulations, proposals for prosecutor elections, the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, the expansion of independent police investigative powers, and the adoption of the grand jury. This excerpt is taken from a working paper on prosecutorial independence in South Korea. The whole paper will be published in coming months.

Estimating the burden of nosocomial exposure to tuberculosis in South Korea, a nationwide population based cross-sectional study

Background/AimsThe aim of the study was to investigate the current nationwide burden of nosocomial exposure to tuberculosis (TB) using national health insurance claims data.MethodsAll patients who had claims for drug susceptibility testing for TB from 2012 to 2016, which indicated culture-proven TB, were included. The first day of the infectious period was defined as 3 months before a doctor’s suspicion of TB in patients with respiratory symptoms and 1 month before in patients without symptoms. The last day of the infectious period was defined as one day before the prescription of anti-TB medications. Patients hospitalized during infectious periods were investigated and their hospitalization days were calculated. Records of medical procedures which increased the risk of nosocomial transmission by generating aerosols were also investigated.ResultsA total of 7,186 cases with 94,636 person-days of hospitalization with unrecognized active TB were found. Patients above 60 years of age accounted for 63.99% of the total number and 69.70% of the total duration of hospitalization. TB patients in the older age group showed a trend toward higher risks for hospitalization with unrecognized active TB. Patients in their 80s showed the highest risk (12.65%). Bronchoscopy (28.86%), nebulizer therapy (28.48%), and endotracheal intubation (13.02%) were common procedures performed in these patients during hospitalization.ConclusionsThe burden of nosocomial exposure to TB in South Korea is still substantial. Hospitalization with unrecognized active TB, especially among the elderly TB patients could be a serious public health issue in South Korea.

Website Interactivity’s Effects on Revisit Intention: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis of the Particulate Matter Issue in South Korea

ABSTRACT This study uses four manipulated versions of a website that provides particulate matter (PM) information, by differentiating the degree of interactivity of website features, to examine the effect of interactivity on systematic processing and behavioral intention. The data from the online experiment show that the medium level of interactivity was effective for enhancing systematic processing and, in turn, increased intentions to learn about the website. In addition, this relationship was especially emphasized for those who had negative preexisting PM attitudes. The findings contribute to developing the framework of interactivity research and provide suggestions for website design.

Identifying relevant international forest regimes for South Korea based on their issues

South Korea has focused on bilateral agreements to supply timber since the 1990s which requires cooperation with forest-related international organisations. This study analysed the relationship between South Korean and international forest regimes by identifying the issues these regimes face and analysing South Korea's contribution to these regimes. The study used data from an in-depth content analysis of key policy documents between South Korea and each of the regimes. The results confirm six forest-related international issues: Sustainable Forest Management, Sustainable Development Goals, forest land degradation and desertification, climate change, illegal logging, forest biodiversity, and species conservation. South Korea contributed to these regimes through cooperative initiatives and projects. This contribution, furthermore, directs other countries' participation to confront the issues. Most of the international forest-related issues in South Korea are derived from external elements such as international agreements or governances. South Korea also uses international regimes to encourage national goals.

Assessment of long-range transboundary aerosols in Seoul, South Korea from Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) and ground-based observations.

To better understand air quality issues in South Korea, it is essential to identify the main contributors of air pollution and to quantify the effects of transboundary transport. In this study, geostationary satellite measurements were used to assess the effects of aerosol transport on air quality in South Korea. This study proposes a method to define the long-range transport (LRT) of aerosols into the Korean Peninsula using remote sensing obervations and back-trajectories and estimates the LRT effects on air quality in Seoul using in-situ particulate matter (PM) measurements. Aerosol optical depths (AODs) are obtained from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), and the back-trajectories are from the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) HYbrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. For LRT events, satellite observations showed high AOD plumes over the Yellow Sea, a pathway between Eastern China and South Korea, and the movements of aerosol plumes transported to South Korea were also detected. PM2.5 concentrations, PM10 concentrations, and AOD during LRT increased by 52%, 49%, and 81%, respectively, relative to their average values for 2015-2018. To quantitatively characterize the LRT of aerosols, the effects of LRT on PM2.5 concentrations were estimated for each PM concentration category. The contribution of LRT to PM2.5 concentrations was estimated to be 33% during 2015-2018. When high concentrations of PM2.5 were observed in Seoul, they were likely to be associated with LRT events.

High PM2.5 Concentrations in a Small Residential City with Low Anthropogenic Emissions in South Korea

High particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations have been considered a serious environmental issue in South Korea. Recent studies have focused mostly on metropolitan and industrial cities; however, high PM2.5 episodes have also been frequently observed even in small– and middle-sized cities. Thus, in this study, PM2.5 and its major chemical components were measured in a small residential city with low anthropogenic emissions for 2 years to identify the factors affecting the PM2.5 concentrations. Overall, the average PM2.5 concentration was 29.4 μg m−3: about two times higher than the annual ambient air quality standard value. In winter, when the PM2.5 concentrations were generally higher, relative humidity (RH) was significantly correlated with both PM2.5 mass and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio, suggesting that high RH promoted the formation of secondary PM2.5. In addition, SO42−and NO3− were found to be correlated with both NH4+ and K+ in winter, indicating that biomass burning was an important source in this city. Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) was also highly correlated with elemental carbon (EC) and K+ in fall and winter, when the burning of agricultural residues actively occurred. During high concentration episodes, NO3− exhibited the highest increase; nevertheless, other components (e.g., K+ and organic carbon) also significantly increased.

Assessment of associations between air pollution and adolescent mental health in South Korea

Background/AimAdolescent mental health problem is increasingly recognized as a serious public health issue in South Korea, in which the suicide rate is the highest in OECD countries. There is growing evidence showing adverse effects of ambient air pollution on mental health. Several studies suggest air pollution rises levels of oxidative stress and inflammation in brain and may increase the risk of mental disorder. However, relatively few studies were conducted in adolescent population. Therefore, we aim to investigate the associations between air pollution and mental health in adolescents in South Korea.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional study with data obtained from the 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS, 2017). The study subject included 38,810 secondary school students (13-18 years old). Based on each subject’s school address, we assigned the exposure as a 1-year average (July 2016 – June 2017) of air pollution concentration (PM10, PM2.5 SO2, and NO2) prior to the time of the survey. Associations between mental health (depressive mood (DM) and suicidal ideation (SI)) and air pollution were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Adjustments were made for sex, self- rated socioeconomic status, drinking and smoking status, grade, self-rated GPA, and region.ResultsThe prevalence of DM and SI were 25.6% and 12.7% in the study population, respectively. DM was positively associated with NO2 (OR 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.02; per 1ppb) and SO2 (OR 1.05; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.11; per 1ppb). SI was positively associated with PM10 (OR 1.20; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.43; per 10μg/m3), SO2 (OR 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.18; per 1ppb), and NO2 (OR 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.03; per 1ppb). Associations regarding PM2.5 did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionsThis study provides suggestive evidence about associations between air pollution and adolescent mental health.

Fairness in Korean Society

This study aims to evaluate the recent "Fairness" related issues in South Korea in the perspectives of the Millennials. In contrast to the X generation, the Millennials are living through the hardest period of Korea with the difficulty of accumulating wealth, high unemployment, and tough social mobility. The challenges in the country led more millennials to lean on a fairer society and to support the current administration, the Moon Administration. However, "Fairness" issues are arising continuously and the response to those issues vary, depending on the typical factors. By analyzing three recent issues-Cho Kuk Incident, ICN Incident, and the Yonsei Incident- the paper analyzes the selective rage of the Millennials. The level of rage is tied to the social, political status of the figure and the direct connection to employment. The policymakers and the X generations emphasize the importance of a fair society while they are not willing to give up their shares of the pie. To avoid slowing down in social and economic development, Korea should find a practical solution or else the Millennials will be living through the toughest generation of Korea.

Refugee Issues and Legal Challenges in South Korea

Refugees have emerged as a new social issue in South Korea, as many Yemenis arrived at Jeju Island and applied for refugee status in 2018. Refugees refer to those who could be persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or difference in political opinions and therefore are in need of “international protection” since they cannot be protected by or return to their country of origin. This paper attempts to gauge the current situation of refugee issues in South Korean society by looking at the changes in refugee policies in Europe that has suffered refugee-related problems earlier and the historical backgrounds of refugees created in the last century. On top of that, this paper examines the current situation of refugee policy in South Korea by exploring the current refugee-related laws and institutions in the country, and figures out whether sharply conflicting opinions on refugee issues are valid. Based on the abovementioned, the final chapter of this paper aims to present the direction and challenges for the resolution of refugee issues in South Korean society.

The role of social solidarity in the rise and decline of the South Korean student movement in the 1970–1990s

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the cause how the student movement in South Korea enjoyed the golden age in the 1970–1990s and could not be revived since the late 1990s and cannot be played a pivotal role again.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts historical analysis as primary methodology, traced the historical evolution of South Korean student activism in the 1970–1990s through analyzing secondary Korean literature and newspaper on the particular struggle cases in the period.FindingsSocial solidarity between society and student had played a pivotal role in the South Korean students' long activism in the struggle of the 1970–1990s. In the 1970–1980s, democratic election and constitutional reform set in the main purpose of struggle that attracted wide support from society and enjoyed maintaining a new member supply and their commitment despite authoritarian government's persistent oppression. When the sixth constitution was passed in 1987 with Democratization, the student decided to choose continuing struggle and set social cooperation with North Korea as the new goal, the sensitive issue in South Korea that confronted fierce criticism. Society chose to withdraw their support to the activism in the Yonsei University incident of 1996, rung a knell of long struggle since the 1970s.Originality/valueThe research identified the cause how South Korean students in university could persist long strike without particular internal resource production during three decades and ended the long struggle in the late 1990s; the existence of social solidarity between student and society was the main reason of continued new member supply and their commitment in the battle.

국내 시니어관광 연구동향과 과제

국내 시니어관광 연구동향과 과제

Threatened or Threatening?: Securitization of the Yemeni Asylum Seekers in South Korea

The arrival of many Yemeni people on Jeju Island in 2018 to seek asylum became a mega-political issue in South Korea. This article investigates two questions. First, how and why have Yemeni asylum seekers suddenly become the focus of securitization concerns in South Korea? And second, how have these concerns affected the government’s responses? We argue that three key factors-the influence of media on the refugee crisis in Europe, the Yemenis’ race, gender, and religious background, and South Korea’s internal political and economic situation-have intersected with each other and produced the securitization of Yemeni migration. Amidst highly contested political debates on the protection of forced migrants in South Korea, the state has strictly controlled the border but showed contradictory refugee policies.

Comparative study on the economic feasibility of nanogrid and microgrid electrification: The case of Jeju Island, South Korea

Due to heavy fuel dependence, the “renewable energy system” idea is an important issue in South Korea. The government of South Korea is endeavoring to convert its energy infrastructure into renewable energy generation. As such, numerous studies have evaluated the economic feasibility of various renewable energy sources in South Korea. This study differs from those studies as it is focused on a smaller scale in terms of self-supporting nanogrid and microgrid energy. The purpose of this study is to determine which type of grid is more economical. To conduct a comparative study on the economic feasibility of nanogrids and microgrids, three substations on Jeju Island were randomly selected. We then suggested two scenarios. The first scenario is <nanogrid>, which changes each substation into a nanogrid, and the second is <microgrid>, which connects the three nanogrids to share electricity. This study identifies the optimal combination of hybrid energy resources using HOMER (hybrid optimization model for electric renewables) software to change the substations into an self-supporting energy nanogrid or microgrid. According to the net present cost and cost of energy results for each scenario through HOMER simulations, the <nanogrid> scenario is more economical than the <microgrid> scenario. However, this study also shows that microgrids can be the better option, depending on the distance between nanogrids. Finally, implications and limitations are discussed in the last section of this paper.

Exploring teachers’ approaches to popular music: Attitudes, learning practice, and issues in South Korea

In recent years, a strong focus on popular music has increased in South Korean music education. Although this shift in the curricular content has led to studies on the formation of popular music repertories in the curriculum, few studies have attended to teachers’ attitudes and learning practices to popular music as related factors. To understand popular music education in South Korea, we investigated music teachers’ attitudes, learning practices, and critical issues that have arisen in their teaching. We conducted an online survey with secondary music teachers ( N = 138) followed by a focus group interview ( n = 6). The findings suggest that teachers’ attitudes toward popular music (positive, neutral, or negative) were associated with their learning practices, including the time they spent on popular music, their selections of popular music genres, and musical activities. This provides a starting point for further investigation of the teachers’ attitudes related to their learning practices in shaping popular music curriculum. Regardless of the teachers’ attitudes to popular music, they agreed popular music a good place to start for their students. In addition, they had similar or divergent perceptions and concerns of teaching popular music depending on their attitudes, as they have found their own individual ways of incorporating popular music.

Creating Short-term Classes on Unification in South Korean Universities

Young adults will be the next generation of leaders, and it is critical for them to be cognizant of major issues that impact society. Unification is a significant issue in South Korea, especially in light of the recent summits between South and North Korea. This study is rooted in principles of peace education to promote peaceful discourse related to unification issues. Unification education plays an important role in K-12 education in South Korea; however, it is not prioritized at the university level. This case study, which included open-ended surveys, interviews, and focus groups, explored South Korean university students’ (n=33) views of creating short-term classes on unification and the types of topics that they think should be taught in these classes. Primary results indicate that most participants expressed interest in taking short-term classes on unification issues. The paper also includes practical implications that can be considered when developing short-term classes on unification in South Korean universities.

Bi-LSTM Sentiment Classifier for Climate Change Issues in South Korea

A sentiment analysis using SNS data can confirm various people’s thoughts. Thus an analysis using SNS can predict social problems and more accurately identify the complex causes of the problem. In addition, big data technology can identify SNS information that is generated in real time, allowing a wide range of people’s opinions to be understood without losing time. It can supplement traditional opinion surveys. The incumbent government mainly uses SNS to promote its policies. However, measures are needed to actively reflect SNS in the process of carrying out the policy. Therefore this paper developed a sentiment classifier that can identify public feelings on SNS about climate change. To that end, based on a dictionary formulated on the theme of climate change, we collected climate change SNS data for learning and tagged seven sentiments. Using training data, the sentiment classifier models were developed using machine learning models. The analysis showed that the Bi-LSTM model had the best performance than shallow models. It showed the highest accuracy (85.10%) in the seven sentiments classified, outperforming traditional machine learning (Naive Bayes and SVM) by approximately 34.53%p, and 7.14%p respectively. These findings substantiate the applicability of the proposed Bi-LSTM-based sentiment classifier to the analysis of sentiments relevant to diverse climate change issues.

Loss assessment of building and contents damage from the potential earthquake risk in Seoul, South Korea

Abstract. After the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake and the 2017 Pohang earthquake struck the Korean peninsula, securing financial stability regarding earthquake risks has become an important issue in South Korea. Many domestic researchers are currently studying potential earthquake risk. However, empirical analyses and statistical approaches are ambiguous in the case of South Korea because no major earthquake has ever occurred on the Korean peninsula since the Korean Meteorological Agency started monitoring earthquakes in 1978. This study focuses on evaluating possible losses due to earthquake risk in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, by using a catastrophe model methodology integrated with GIS (Geographic Information Systems). Building information, such as structure and location, is taken from the building registration database and the replacement cost for buildings is obtained from insurance information. As the seismic design code in the KBC (Korea Building Code) is similar to the seismic design code of the UBC (Uniform Building Code), the damage functions provided by HAZUS-Multi-hazard (HAZUS-MH) are used to assess the damage state of each building in event of an earthquake. A total of 12 earthquake scenarios are evaluated by considering the distribution and characteristics of active fault zones on the Korean peninsula and damages, with total loss amounts are calculated for each of the scenarios. The results of this study show that loss amounts due to potential earthquakes are significantly lower than those of previous studies. The challenge of this study is to implement an earthquake response spectrum and to reflect the actual asset value of buildings in Seoul.

Impacts of local vs. trans-boundary emissions from different sectors on PM2.5 exposure in South Korea during the KORUS-AQ campaign

High concentrations of PM2.5 have become a serious environmental issue in South Korea, which ranked 1st or 2nd among OECD countries in terms of population exposure to PM2.5. Quantitative understanding of PM2.5 source attribution is thus crucial for developing efficient air quality mitigation strategies. Here we use a suite of extensive observations of PM2.5 and its precursors concentrations during the international KORea-US cooperative Air Quality field study in Korea (KORUS-AQ) in May–June 2016 to investigate source contributions to PM2.5 in South Korea under various meteorological conditions. For the quantitative analysis, we updated a 3-D chemical transport model, GEOS-Chem, and its adjoint with the latest regional emission inventory and other recent findings. The updated model is evaluated by comparing against observed daily PM2.5 and its component concentrations from six ground sites (Bangnyung, Bulkwang, Olympic park, Gwangju, Ulsan, and Jeju). Overall, simulated concentrations of daily PM2.5 and its components are in a good agreement with observations over the peninsula. We conduct an adjoint sensitivity analysis for simulated surface level PM2.5 concentrations at five ground sites (except for Bangnyung because of its small population) under four different meteorological conditions: dynamic weather, stagnant, extreme pollution, and blocking periods. Source contributions by regions vary greatly depending on synoptic meteorological conditions. Chinese contribution accounts for almost 68% of PM2.5 in surface air in South Korea during the extreme pollution period of the campaign, whereas an enhanced contribution from domestic sources (57%) occurs for the blocking period. Results from our sensitivity analysis suggest that the reduction of domestic anthropogenic NH3 emissions could be most effective in reducing population exposure to PM2.5 in South Korea (effectiveness = 14%) followed by anthropogenic SO2 emissions from Shandong region (effectiveness = 11%), domestic anthropogenic NOx emissions (effectiveness = 10%), anthropogenic NH3 emissions from Shandong region (effectiveness = 8%), anthropogenic NOx emissions from Shandong region (effectiveness = 7%), domestic anthropogenic OC emissions (effectiveness = 7%), and domestic anthropogenic BC emissions (effectiveness = 5%).

Validation of the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) in the Korean corporate context

ABSTRACT Lack of a valid instrument to measure learning transfer predictors has been the major obstacle hindering Human Resource Development (HRD) professionals from moving forward. This problem is one of the lingering HRD issues in South Korea, in which human resources have been strategically emphasized as a critical asset due to the scarcity of natural resources. To address this issue, this study aims at testing the validity and reliability of the data collected with the Korean Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) Version 4. A sample of 753 managers from 16 Korean industries was divided into two subsamples for exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Reliability and the effect of common method variance on the factor structure were examined, with the results suggesting that the LTSI is valid for use in the Korean industry.

Characteristics of Carbonaceous PM2.5 in a Small Residential City in Korea

PM2.5 has been a serious issue in South Korea not only in urban and industrial areas but also in rural and background areas. In this study, PM2.5 and its carbonaceous compounds including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected and analyzed in a small residential city. The PM2.5 concentration frequently exceeded the national ambient air quality standard during the spring and the winter, which often occurred concurrently with fog and mist events. Over the whole sampling period, both OC and the OC/EC ratio were considerably higher than the ratios in other cities in Korea, which suggests that sources other than vehicular emissions were important. The top 10% of OC/EC ratio samples could be explained by regional and long-range transport because there was a strong correlation between primary and secondary organic carbon. However, biomass combustion was likely to account for the consistently high OC concentration due to a strong correlation between WSOC and primary OC as well as the diagnostic ratio results of PAHs.