• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.1118-1125
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• 2014

The past IMF foreign exchange crisis and subprime financial crisis had a big influence on variability of macroeconomics, even if the origin of its occurrence might be different. This not only had a significant infrequence on the overall industries, but also produced many insolvent companies by being closely linked with a management environment of an individual construction company leading the construction industry. The purpose of this research is to investigate characteristics of management condition of construction company according to the size of construction company using KMV model developed on the basis of the Black & Scholes option pricing theory. This research has set 28 construction companies listed to KOSPI/KOSDAQ for applying the KMV model and measuring the level of the default risk of construction companies. The data was retrieved from TS2000 established by Korea Listed Companies Association (KLCA), Statistics Korea. The analysis period is between first quarter of 2004 and fourth quarter of 2010. This research examine characteristics of the level and fluctuation process of the management condition of construction company according to the size of construction company.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.2529-2539
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• 2013

The Korean construction industry has led the miraculous economic boost of Korea by providing solid domestic infrastructures such as highway, roads, and airports. It also played a critical role in global construction market and eaned more than 500 billions dollars in terms of their accumulated international orders. However, domestic construction market has significantly decreased in recent years due to the domestic political environments and global economic crisis. Therefore, the importance of international construction market cannot be more emphasized to the Korean construction market in order for the sustainable growth. There has been, however, little research in the area of identifying required competency elements for the Korean construction industry to stay successful in the global market. The main purpose of this study is to identify elements of core competency to increase global competitiveness for Korean construction industry. Core global construction competency elements were derived from the internal and external environmental analyses along with the extensive literature review, expert interviews and a survey. This study utilized the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) and a gap analysis in providing insights on the status competitiveness of the Korean construction industry in terms of required global core competency elements. The analysis shows that project management and financial management are the main areas for improvements required to engineering contractors while construction contractors need to take a more balanced approach among technical, project management, and financial management in order to increase their global competencies.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2010

Although international construction market gradually takes a important position among the export industries, the previous studies about international construction entry strategy have just focussed on trend investigation or suggestion for revitalization. Moreover, in order to prepare the market uncertainty such as world financial crisis and to plan the long term strategy, specific strategy studies based on corporate level are required. Therefore, this study estimates the nine strategic index and four financial index of 31 companies that performed 1920 international projects from 1993 to 2007 and evaluate the performance as three periods by multi-regression analysis. Also, this study analyze dynamic correlation between these index and the performance considering times. this study verifies that market diversification, product diversification, localization and decrease of debt to asset ratio make a good effect on the international order as long term strategy and shows that collaborated entry with domestic corporations, alliance entry with host country's company, alliance entry with third country's company, portion of labor cost and portion of management expense differently make a influence on the performance as times. these results will be helpful for the construction companies to plan the international entry strategy reasonably and specifically.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.670-676
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• 2009

Bankruptcy of firms in Korea can cause distress of financial institutions because these institutions have disterssed bond. Accordingly, social and economical spill-over effects by these results are very big. Even after the difficult times of IMF crisis had ended, bankruptcy of information-based small-medium companies and venture firms listed on the KOSDAQ has been continued. In this context, this study developed and adopted failure prediction models for which discriminant analysis was used. Samples of this study was 81 firms respectively for both failed and non-failed firms listed on the KOSDAQ between the year of 2000 and 2007. The results of this study are as follows. First, the accuracy of classification of the model by years was $74.5%{\sim}76.5%$, and the accuracy of classification of the mean model was $69.6%{\sim}80.4%$. Among the models, the mean model of -one year, -two years, and -three years was highest in accuracy of classification (80.4%). Second, accuracy of prediction of final model adopted on validation samples showed 85% before one year of bankruptcy. The results of this study may be significant in that the results may be used as early warning system for bankruptcy prediction of KOSDAQ firms.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-34
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• 2013

Labor share of income in Korea has fallen from 90% in 1996 to 79% in 2010. This paper explores the factors driving the movements in the labor share of income based on a panel dataset containing 19 years of data on 18 Korean manufacturing industries. The effects of technical progress, globalization and the bargaining power of labor and capital on the labor share of income are tested for the period of 1991-2009. The main empirical results are as follows. (1) Capital-aug menting technical prog ress measured by capital-labor ratio and R&D intensity has a negative effect on the labor share. (2) Market openness measured by the value of export and import as a ratio to value-added production is found to have a positive impact. (3) Globalization of production measured by inward-FDI and outward-FDI as a ratio to total domestic fixed capital is found to have a negative impact on the labor share. (4) Union density is found to have had a statistically significant effect in 1991-1998. This finding is consistent with the efficient bargain model in which firms and workers bargain over both wages and employment. But union density is insignificant in 2000-2009. This implies that since the financial crisis in 1997, the bargaining institution in Korea has been approaching the right-to-manage model in which firms and unions bargain over wages and then firms set employment unilaterally. (5) Variables for domestic financialization measured by dividend-income ratio and financial-fixed assets ratio have an insignificant effect on labor share.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.14 no.1_spc
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• pp.299-317
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• 2008

The school drop-out among the youth has grown to become a serious social problem since about 2000 and calls for an attention to its seriousness. Therefore, this study reviewed the statitistical reports and the previous empirical findings on the school drop-out and integrated to establish a comprehensive understanding of this social phenomenon. The main concepts and terminologies on school drop-out, the current statistics, the possible causal factors and the usual trajectory the youth take after dropping-out of school were discussed to conceptualize the issue. Analyses indicated 12 characteristics of the students who dropped out of school. Those 12 characteristics were restructured according to the ecological conceptual model. The social instability and the financial crisis in the 1990's has eroded the stability of the primary environments of adolescents such as family and school. The family breakdowns from divorce and other reasons weakened psychological and financial support for adolescents. The diminished authority of teachers and school over students exposed conflicts between teacher and students, students' loss of purpose and interest in academic attainment. The adolescents showed emotional reponses like increased level of depression, helplessness, aggression, indicated cognitive reponses such as the loss of purpose and interest in studying, a heightened sense of uncertainty of the future, and behavioral responses like sexual acting out behaviors, and bullying. The unmet psychological needs of adolescents result in run-away and school drop-out behaviors, which in turn progress into juvenile delinquency as the society fails to provide adequate and appropriate guidance and interventions. The intervention strategies at the national level were proposed and the limitations of the study were discussed.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.77-115
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to present empirical evidence for discussion of financing social welfare via estimating optimal tax burden in the main member countries of the OECD by using Hausman-Taylor method considering endogeneity of explanatory variables. Also, the author produced an international tax comparison index reflecting theoretical hypotheses on revenue-expenditure nexus within a model to compare real tax burden by countries and to examine feasibility of tax increase in Korea. As a result of the analysis, the higher the level of tax burden was, the higher the level of welfare expenditure was, indicating the connection between high burden and high welfare from the aspect of scale. The results also indicated that the subject countries recently entered into the state of low tax burden. Meanwhile, Korea had maintained low burden until the late 1990s but the tax burden soared up since the financial crisis related to the IMF. However, due to the impact of foreign economy and the tax reduction policy, it reentered into the low-burden state after 2009. On the other hand, the degree of social welfare expenditure's reducing tax burden has been gradually enhanced since the crisis. In this context, the current optimal tax burden ratio of Korea as of 2010 may be 25.8%~26.5% of GDP based on input of welfare expenditure variables, a percent that Korea was investigated to be a 'high tax burden-low ITC' country whose tax increase of 0.7~1.4%p may be feasible and that the success of tax system reform for tax increase might be higher probability when compare to others. However, measures of increasing social security contributions and consumption tax were analyzed to be improper from the aspect of managing finance when compared to increase in other tax items, considering the relatively higher ITC. Tax increase is not necessarily required though there may be room for tax increase; the optimal tax burden ratio can be understood as the level that may be achieved on average when compared to other nations, not as the "proper" level. Thus, discussion of tax increase should be accompanied with comprehensive understanding of models of economic developmental difference from nations and institutional & historical attributes included in specific tax mix.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.125-151
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• 2004

This study tests the price discovery from US Treasury bond markets to Korean bond markets using the daily returns of Korean bond data (CD, 3-year T-note, 5-year T-note, 5-year corporate note) and US treasury bond markets (3-month T-bill, 5-year T-note 10-year T-bond) from July 1, 1998 to December 31, 2003. For further research, we divide full data into two sub-samples on the basis of the start-up of bond valuation system in Korean bond market July 1, 2000, employing uni-variate AR(1)-GARCH(1,1)-M model. The main results are as follows. First the volatility spillover effects from US Treasury bond markets (3-month T-bill, 5-year T-note, 10-year T-bond) to Korean Treasury and Corporate bond markets (CD, 3-year T-note, 5-year T-note, 5-year corporate note) are significantly found at 1% confidence level. Second, the price discovery function from US bond markets to Korean bond markets in the sub-data of the pre-bond valuation system exists much stronger and more persistent than those of the post-bond valuation system. In particular, the role of 10-year T-bond compared with 3-month T-bill and 5-year T-note is outstanding. We imply these findings result from the international capital market integration which is accelerated by the broad opening of Korean capital market after 1997 Korean currency crisis and the development of telecommunication skill. In addition, these results are meaningful for bond investors who are in charge of capital asset pricing valuation, risk management, and international portfolio management.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.290-308
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• 2008

The industrial development of Goryeong County was started by the operation of the Ssangrym Agro￢industrial complex in the 1980s. As of 2m3, there are 6 industrial complexes in Goryeong County which account for 80 percent of total employment and 67 percent of total production outPuts in local manufacturing. The local manufacturing industries grew steadily before the 1997 financial crisis which resulted in industrial decline and have shown again a growing tendency since 2000. In this period of growth, manufacturing outPuts are increased and the industrial structure are improved, while employment and value added are in stagnation. The major industrial agglomerations are based in Gaejin-Myun, Dasan-Myun and Ssangrym-Myun, all of which are those in which the agro-industrial complex is operated. More than half of local manufacturing finns are those which came to move in from other regions, looking for cheap labour forces, agglomeration of the related finns and the easy accessibility to transport and communication. However, such local advantages are increasingly losing due to the shortage of labour forces and the lack of industrial networks. Some policy agendas can be suggested as follows. First of all, industrial policy should attempt links with the building-up of the Daegu Technopolis and the up-grading of the local industrial structure towards the knowledge-based industries. Secondly, the local government should make efforts to establish the innovation supporting system for local firms and the industrial and residential basis.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.59-65
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• 2014

Purpose - The competitiveness of logistics in the 21st century rests on ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of its local hub. While considering entry into a niche market in local logistics, it is pertinent to note that Budapest is emerging as a hub in EU enlargement in Eastern Europe. Big, small, and medium-sized businesses in Korea entered Hungary in the early 1990s since then, there has been a significant increase in Korean presence, of approximately 130 times. This study aimed to identify the key distribution issues that have emerged in relation to Eastern Europe. Research design, data, and methodology - This study indicates that 33 major Korean companies were located in Hungary, which serves as an out post to enter the European marketplace. However, Korea's exports to Hungary have declined (-32.0% in 2012) because of a loss of competitiveness against multinational corporations, due to factors such as the rise in current local distribution costs and wages. Hungary, on the other hand, through diversification and expansion of foreign trade with the non-EU markets, including Korea, is increasing its exports. Strategies of emerging countries are compared and reviewed in this study, by examining the vicissitudes of Hungary's distribution methods. Results - There are issues regarding Hungary's innovative ability. Hungary has a history of low wages and high skilled labor. However, the outflow of high-quality human resources for high-wages has become more extensive, and this underlines concerns that the CEE's trade hub is moving to neighboring countries. After the European financial crisis in 2010, the Hungarian economy is now developing, because of the IMF's measures, and it is being transformed into a trade surplus nation, while regaining distribution volumes rapidly. However, if there is continued lack of investment, the supply chain is weakened and exports decline amidst competition with TNCs or with China's distribution networks. Conclusions - It is necessary to create a new logistics approach for increasing trade between Korea and Hungary. First, Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should build trust by working with advanced Hungarian talent, and they should expand into state-of-the-art fields instead of being confined to traditional sectors. Second, this study focuses on limiting and lowering their high expectations for success according to foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and the role in the CEE distribution hub Korea should try to strengthen the distribution hub with its centralized population, using better, more highly educated human resources, thereby sustaining more innovative ability. Further, the positive effects of these measures are manifested in enhanced business on both sides of Hungary, namely, the EU and non-EU nations such as Turkey and emerging markets around Europe, and a better engagement in the core placement of culture and industry. For this, Korea can contribute to, and benefit from, a Hungarian logistics center, for adopting the high-tech cluster systems and commercializing distribution technology such as RFID·USN.