System In South Korea Research Articles

The Improvement of Legal System for Risk Management of Sunken Ships

침몰선박이 가진 잠재적 위험성은 운항중인 선박의 사고위험에 이어 중요한 해양사고의 위험요인이다. 이 논문은 침몰선박의 관리를 규율하는 법률인 해사안전법, 해양환경관리법, 공유수면관리법의 내용을 검토하고 현행 법체계의 문제를 분석해 이를 개선할 수 있는 대안을 제시였다. 분석결과 현재의 침몰선박 관리법제는 침몰선박이 운반하는 격리된 화물의 환경오염 위험성을 관리하지 못하고 있으며, 법 적용공간상의 차등적 규율로 인해 내수면의 침몰선박에 대한 환경오염 위험성을 관리하는 데 한계가 있었다. 또한 위해도 평가에 한계가 있으며, 비용 효과적이지 못하다는 문제를 확인했다. 이를 토대로 침몰선박 등 관리대상과 관리영역을 정비하기 위한 각 법률 개정안을 제안했으며, 침몰선박 등의 관리를 위한 통합지침의 제정과 종합 위해도 평가체계를 제안하였다.The potential danger of a sunken ship is one of the most important risk factors of a major maritime accident following the risk of accident of a vessel in operation. This paper reviewed the Marine Safety Act, the Oceanic Environment Management Act and the Public Water Management Act for their contents of sunken ship management, and analyzed the problems of the current legal system in South Korea. It is found that the current legislation on the management of sunken ships does not manage the risk of environmental pollution of isolated cargo carried by sunken ships. Due to the different rules across the laws, there is limited management of environmental pollution risk for sunken ships on water surface. This study also identified the problems of risk assessment for sunken ships. The findings of this study propose an amendment of each law to fine-tune management targets and areas, along with an integrated guideline and comprehensive risk assessment system for sunken ships.

Effects of the move towards renewables on the power system reliability and flexibility in South Korea

The plan to shift towards renewable energy has recently become the central part of the energy policy on the power system in South Korea. The sudden shift towards renewable energy has raised questions regarding the reliability and flexibility of the power system. This paper proposes a research framework to evaluate the new policy in South Korea from various aspects using three simulation models in a series. The first optimal generation model finds the optimal electricity generation mix and provides the total generation cost and environmental impact of the given long-term capacity expansion plan. The other two simulation models assess the reliability and flexibility of power systems, respectively. Within the research framework, we introduce a new probabilistic index to quantitatively measure the flexibility. The results of applying the framework into the new policy show that the policy fails to guarantee the target reliability level and increases costs and emissions. Achieving target system reliability will require additional capacity, and system flexibility is very sensitive to the type of capacity added. If the Korean government decides to add more capacity, natural gas turbine power plants turn out to be a good option from the point of economic, environmental, and flexibility considerations.

Development of Revegetated Slope Stability Assessment System in South Korea

Development of Revegetated Slope Stability Assessment System in South Korea

Development of a senior-specific, citizen-oriented healthcare service system in South Korea based on the Canadian 48/6 model of care

BackgroundIn the age of aging, Korea’s current medical delivery system threatens to increase the number of medical and caring refugees. This study attempts to develop an integrated senior citizen-oriented healthcare service system in which daily care, professional care, and rehabilitation are organically organized between medical institutions and local communities, thereby meeting the daily life needs of the elderly and inducing well-being, wellness, and well-dying.MethodsTo develop the integrated healthcare system, data collection and analyses were conducted through a systematic review, literature review, benchmarking, focus group interviews, and expert consultation.ResultsThe senior-specific, citizen-oriented healthcare service system developed in this study is designed to screen patients aged 65 or older within 24 h of being admitted, using the Geriatric Screening for Care-10. If there is reason for concern as a result of the screening, further evaluation is performed through assessment. Doctors and nurses create a care plan and a discharge plan based on the results from the screening and assessment. The nurse further uses the screening to monitor the patient’s condition before discharge. Based on the screening results at the time of discharge, a transitional care plan is prepared and provided to elderly patients and/or their families. This process enables a systematic link between medical institutions and community resources, aiming for the continuous management of health issues. It also establishes a multidisciplinary treatment plan that considers patients and their families so that diseases common to the elderly are diagnosed and treated promptly.ConclusionsThe most important issue for the elderly is to be able to live healthily and independently for the rest of their lives through well-being, wellness, and well-dying. The senior-specific, citizen-oriented healthcare service proposed in this study is an integrated medical treatment system for elderly users the implementation of which requires the daily care, professional care, and rehabilitation of elderly members of society to be organically organized according to the role of the patients, their families, and the caregiver.

Conceptual Framework of an Intelligent Decision Support System for Smart City Disaster Management

In order to protect human lives and infrastructure, as well as to minimize the risk of damage, it is important to predict and respond to natural disasters in advance. However, currently, the standardized disaster response system in South Korea still needs further advancement, and the response phase systems need to be improved to ensure that they are properly equipped to cope with natural disasters. Existing studies on intelligent disaster management systems (IDSSs) in South Korea have focused only on storms, floods, and earthquakes, and they have not used past data. This research proposes a new conceptual framework of an IDSS for disaster management, with particular attention paid to wildfires and cold/heat waves. The IDSS uses big data collected from open application programming interface (API) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to help decision-makers make faster and more accurate decisions. In addition, a simple example of the use of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to detect fire in surveillance video has been developed, which can be used for automatic fire detection and provide an appropriate response. The system will also consider connecting to open source intelligence (OSINT) to identify vulnerabilities, mitigate risks, and develop more robust security policies than those currently in place to prevent cyber-attacks.

The 2015 welfare reform of the National Basic Livelihood Security System in South Korea: Effects on economic outcomes

In July 2015, South Korea’s National Basic Livelihood Security System (NBLSS) was reformed for the purposes of eliminating welfare blind spots and reducing poverty. The reform is expected to affect the recipients’ economic behaviours and choices. In this study, we used changes in benefits and eligibility for the NBLSS under the customised benefit system to identify the effects of the change in the NBLSS on a proposed set of economic outcomes – income, labour supply, consumption, savings, poverty reduction. To estimate the effects, we used data from the 10th–12th waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study and employed a difference‐in‐differences framework integrated with the propensity scores. We found that the NBLSS helps the poor to reduce financial and material hardships through income and consumption increments, but that it does not provide disincentives to the recipients from participating in the labour market or from saving.

Case Study of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) Outbreak in South Korea and Future Implications

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) is a potentially fatal respiratory viral infection that has had outbreaks in the Middle East and Asia region starting in 2012. As recent as 2015, MERS had outbreaks in South Korea, resulting in 36 deaths among 186 infected patients. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an in-depth understanding of how this viral infection behaves in outbreaks and how it is spread around the globe. To gain insight, real time analysis was performed under a case study methodology based on pooled data from the Ministry of Health & Welfare of South Korea. We calculated a striated mortality rate based on gender, age, and the presence of pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart, lung, and kidney diseases. We found that MERS outbreak follows the pattern of a point source outbreak, largely spurred by the patient-referral system under the universal healthcare system in South Korea. The purpose of this case is to discuss the benefits and challenges of such patient referral system, and to offer a possible solution in improving transparency between healthcare providers and the government under a universal healthcare system to prevent future outbreaks.

Design and Implementation of a Multi-Disaster Risk Assessment Database System in South Korea

To cope with natural disasters and their impact, various types of risk assessment tools have been developed to assess hazards from a scientific point of view as well as the socioeconomic impacts of a hazardous event. Because most of the assessment tools have been developed using local and regional characteristics, there are limitations when applying special cases consisting of various disaster-related datasets in Korea. In this paper, we collected open data scattered among various institutions and guaranteed data interoperability through a standardization process considering various formats. In addition, this study presents a scalable design method and implementation of a database system which can be easily employed in Korean loss estimation due to natural hazards. The proposed database system will be of great help in predicting the disaster scale and degree of damage, in supporting decision-making to minimize damage, and could serve as a data platform of disaster risk reduction and prevention.

Molecular characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolated from layer parent stock

Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) and Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) are ubiquitous intestinal bacteria in humans and animals that can easily acquire antimicrobial resistance, which allows them to have roles as antimicrobial resistance indicators. In addition, layer parent stock produces thousands of eggs for the production of commercial laying hens and can transfer a variety of viral and bacterial agents to chicks. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial-resistant E. faecalis and E. faecium isolated in the layer parent stock level of the egg-layer operating system in South Korea. A total of 129 E. faecalis and 166 E. faecium isolates from 74 flocks of 30 layer parent stock were tested for resistance in this study. The prevalence of doxycycline- (51.9%), erythromycin- (53.5%), high-level gentamicin- (13.2%), high-level kanamycin- (31.0%), high-level streptomycin- (30.2%), and tetracycline- (64.3%) resistant E. faecalis isolates were higher than those for E. faecium isolates (P < 0.05). The ermB gene was detected in 66 (95.7%) erythromycin-resistant E. faecalis isolates, which was higher than that of 32 (71.7%) erythromycin-resistant E. faecium isolates. Twenty-one high-level gentamicin-resistant Enterococcus spp. (17 E. faecalis and 4 E. faecium) carried at least one aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme gene, aac(6')Ie-aph(2')-Ia or ant(6)-Ia. Fourteen isolates that harbored both aac(6')Ie-aph(2')-Ia and ant(6)-Ia exhibited pattern A with IS256 at both ends. Ten high-level ciprofloxacin-resistant Enterococcus spp. (8 E. faecalis and 2 E. faecium) showed amino acid changes from serine to isoleucine at codons 83 in gyrA, and 80 in parC. Also, the virulence genes ace, asa1, efaA, and gelE were detected in this study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial-resistant E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates in the layer parent stock. Our findings support the need for a surveillance program to monitor the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant E. faecalis and E. faecium in layer operating system.

Development of a Customer Friendly GIS-based Disaster Management System in South Korea

Development of a Customer Friendly GIS-based Disaster Management System in South Korea

Features of Governmental Policy-making Process in the 2022 Deliberative Polling on the Reform of College Admissions' System in South Korea

Features of Governmental Policy-making Process in the 2022 Deliberative Polling on the Reform of College Admissions' System in South Korea

Roles of Public Health Disaster Response Team within the National Disaster Response System in South Korea

In South Korea, Public Health Disaster Response Team (PHDRT) has been organized by every Community Health Center since 2016. When a disaster or accident with heavy casualties is expected to occur, PHDRT is dispatched. This study shed light on the role of PHDRT within the Korean National Disaster Response System by analyzing the related law and regulations, their activities, and interviews with disaster medical professionals. PHDRT is the part of the national disaster management system in Korea, organized under the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety. As of 2018, there was a total of 468 teams and 2,557 members, mostly consisting of physicians, nurses and administrators. The roles of PHDRT in disaster medical response include early triage, medical resource planning, patient transportation, support of on-site emergency care, and media relations and communications. To facilitate the activities of PHDRT, their roles need to be well defined and supported by legal and institutional frameworks, along with individual and organizational efforts to strengthen capacity.

Effects of a mandatory DRG payment system in South Korea: Analysis of multi-year nationwide hospital claims data

BackgroundIn 2002, a voluntary diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) payment system was introduced in South Korea for seven disease groups, and participation in the DRGs was mandated for all hospitals beginning in 2013. The primary aim of this study was to compare results reflective of patient care between voluntary participation hospitals (VPHs) and mandatory participation hospitals (MPHs) governed by either the DRGs or fee-for-service (FFS) payment system.MethodsWe collected DRGs and FFS inpatient records (n=3,038,006) from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment for the period of July 2011 to July 2014 and compared length-of-stay, total medical costs, shifting services to an outpatient setting, and readmission rates according to payment system, time of DRGs implementation, and hospital type. We analyzed the effects of mandatory introduction in DRGs payment system on results for patient care and used generalized estimating equations with difference-in-difference methodology.ResultsMost notably, patients at MPHs had significantly shorter LOS and lower readmission rates than VPH patients after mandatory introduction of the DRGs. Shifting services to an outpatient setting was similar between the groups.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the DRGs payment policy in Korea has decreased LOS and readmission rates. These findings support the continued implementation and enlargement of the DRGs payment system for other diseases in South Korea, given its potential for curbing unnecessary resource usage encouraged by FFS. If the Korean government deliberates on expansion of the DRGs to include other diseases with higher rates of complications, policymakers need to monitor deterioration of health care quality caused by fixed pricing.

Risk factors of community-onset extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteraemia in South Korea using national health insurance claims data

Although it is essential to know the particular causes of antibiotic-resistant infections in the community, there is lack of evidence regarding risk factors for community-onset extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-KP) bacteraemia in South Korea. As such, this study aimed to identify risk factors for community-onset ESBL-KP bacteraemia. From May 2016 to April 2017, patients with community-onset KP bloodstream infection (BSI) (n = 408) from six sentinel hospitals participating in the Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System in South Korea were included in this study. Risk factors of ESBL-KP BSI were assessed. Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing to identify genes encoding ESBLs and multi-locus sequence typing were performed. Of the 408 patients with community-onset KP BSI, 70 (17%) had ESBL-KP BSI. Admission to a long-term-care hospital within the previous 3 months [odds ratio (OR) 5.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1-15.6; P = 0.001], previous use of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMT; OR 11.5, 95% CI 2.7-48.6; P = 0.001) or extended-spectrum cephalosporin (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.2-3.9; P = 0.01), and previous use of a urinary catheter (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.5; P = 0.02) were independent risk factors for community-onset ESBL-KP BSI. ESBL-KP isolates most frequently carried the CTX-M-1 group ESBL (74%, n = 52). The most prevalent sequence type (ST) among the ESBL-KP isolates was ST48 (14%, n = 10). Among non-ESBL-KP isolates, ST23 was most prevalent (21%, n = 70). Previous admission to a long-term-care hospital, use of a urinary catheter and use of TMP/SMT or extended-spectrum cephalosporin within the previous 3 months were identified as risk factors for community-onset ESBL-KP BSI. Strict antibiotic stewardship and infection control measures are needed for long-term-care hospitals.

Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process for the Reform Direction of Disaster Management System in South Korea - In Preparation for Reunification -

This study suggested how to improve the disaster safety system in South Korea via government-private partnerships in preparation for reunification with North Korea. The results of this study recommended the legal and institutional reform, standardization of disaster terminology, manual generalization, and enhanced disaster safety system reflecting the regional characteristics. In addition, for smooth cooperation for the disaster management and response system between the two Koreas, it would be desirable to establish a more focused strategy on the border area, economic cooperation zones, and the exchange areas instead of a comprehensive strategy in the widespread area. In particular, according to the analytic hierarchy process, the expert groups identified system reform as the most important reform with regards to the disaster management system in preparation for the Korean reunification, followed by policy reform and cooperation system reform.

Economic Solution of the Tri-Generation System Using Photovoltaic-Thermal and Ground Source Heat Pump for Zero Energy Building (ZEB) Realization

The zero energy building (ZEB) is being introduced as a new energy policy in the building sector. Accordingly, to realize the ZEB, renewable energy systems that can produce energy are essential. Various hybrid systems are being proposed to develop a more efficient system than individual renewable energy systems, among which tri-generation systems are attracting attention. In this study, in order to find an economic solution of a tri-generation system for the realization of ZEB, the simulation model using the dynamic energy analysis code was constructed and a feasibility study was conducted. Moreover, the conventional design method and the design method for ZEB realization were proposed, and the return on investment (ROI) was calculated according to four local conditions and two design methods. As a result of energy analysis, the energy self-sufficiency (ES) in Seoul, Ulsan, Ottawa and Toronto were calculated as 62%, 65.1%, 57.7%, and 60.2%, respectively. Moreover, results of feasibility analysis compared to a conventional system showed that the payback period of the tri-generation system in South Korea was within 13 years, and Canada was within 10 years.

Ideology, nationalism, and education: the case of education reforms in the two Koreas

This research explores the influences of ideology and nationalism on education reforms in South and North Korea through a comparative historical analysis of education reforms during the transition period from Japanese colonialism to the period of US and Soviet military government control. Ideas of modern education and nationalism had already emerged among Koreans before 1945 when they achieved independence from Japanese colonization. In this sense, during the US and Soviet military regimes, education reforms were conducted in light of already existing efforts for nation-building by indigenous Korean leaders. The hopes and desires of the leaders of the two Koreas, as expressed by their adoption of new ideologies within the newly established military governments, represented a clear break from the past—be that Japanese colonialism or Confucian traditionalism—and a firm determination to change the present for the future in accordance with these ideologies. In the field of education, this change occurred with the introduction of John Dewey’s liberal educational philosophy to rebuild the education system in South Korea, and with the adoption of socialist educational philosophies such as polytechnicism and collectivism in North Korea.

Performance Indicators Framework for Assessment of a Sanitary Sewer System Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

In this study, performance indicators (PIs) for assessing services of the sanitary sewer system in South Korea were evaluated based on general opinions collected from experts in the field. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was then carried out. The evaluated set of PIs consisted of five major criteria: management, operation and maintenance, service, environment, and finance. Using the experts’ survey incorporated into the AHP tool, the prioritization of the five criteria was performed, consisting of a total of 14 indicators and 34 checklists on three levels. Of the criteria groups, operation and maintenance was found to be the most important indicator, comprising 43% of all the scores. The AHP results showed that, of the 34 checklists, 13 indicators were explained as candidates of key PIs: on-the-job training and work role and responsibility from management, sewer condition inspection, pump, sewer maintenance, flow rate/water quality/odor monitoring from operation and maintenance, complaint resolution from service, inflow volume from environment, and operational cost in annual expenditures from finance. The PIs developed in this study are expected to be used by stakeholders involved in the provision of sewer services, such as undertaking companies, policy-making bodies, and financing agencies.

Exploring Latent Factors Influencing the Adoption of a Processed Food Traceability System in South Korea

Several recalls of dietary supplements and infant formula not only caused direct economic loss to processors but also created distrust of food traceability systems(FTSs) initiated by government. In Korea, mandatory FTS regulations on infant formula and dietary supplements were enacted at the end of 2014, allowing the government to collect electronic traceability data to cope with food outbreaks. The aim of this study is to examine the influence and process of latent factors by developing a theoretical model and testing empirical data from the Korean processed food sector. The particular value of this study is to identify the latent factors influencing the diffusion of an electronic FTS. Three external factors (organizational adaptability, validity and awareness of FTS) were incorporated into a technology acceptance model (TAM) based on previous studies, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as a tool for confirmatory analysis. The validity of FTSs has a prominent effect on attitudes toward FTSs and compliance intentions. Contrary to the findings of previous studies, organizational adaptability does not influence a positive effect on attitudes toward FTS. Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed that retailers reacted significantly to the different influences than manufacturers. The findings of this paper have implications for both policy makers and regulatory authorities. The results of this theoretical and practical study contribute to establishing a conceptual framework and motivate additional researches on FTS adoption and diffusion in processed food sectors.

Reactive Power Management Based on Voltage Sensitivity Analysis of Distribution System with High Penetration of Renewable Energies

The high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the distribution system brings new challenges related to voltage variations and reverse power flow. The sudden changes in electric power generation from the DERs due to climate conditions or their internal malfunction might cause high fluctuations in system voltage. To enhance the voltage stability when a disturbance occurs, this paper proposes a new reactive power management method to control each DER based on voltage sensitivity analysis. The voltage variation has the different features in both steady-state and transient conditions. In particular, its transient behavior depends on the type of DERs. Therefore, the particular optimal control for improving the dynamic response of voltage is difficult to apply for all types of DERs. In contrast, the voltage variation in steady-state can be controlled with the reactive power management by the sensitivity analysis between reactive power generation and system voltage. Even though this paper focuses on the reduction of voltage variation in steady-state, the relationship between the voltage variations in steady-state and transient conditions is also analyzed. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified with several case studies on the practical distribution system in South Korea by using the time-domain simulation based on the PSCAD/EMTDC® software. The results show that the proposed reactive power management method can improve the dynamic voltage responses in both steady-state and transient conditions when the distribution system has the high penetration of renewables.