• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.15-31
• /
• 2020

Background and objectives: One-person households are the fastest growing family type in Korea. They bring social concerns such as weakened social integration, increasing poverty and social isolation. They are not homogeneous but heterogeneous groups depending on their socio-demographic characteristics including generation. This study compared the life satisfaction level as well as factors affecting it among the three one-person household generations Methods: The 13th wave of the Korea Welfare Panel dataset with 1,187 respondents was utilized. For data analysis Chi-square test, analysis of variance and hierarchical regression analysis were employed. Generations are divided into three, namely young adult (20-39), the middle-aged (40-64) and the elderly (65 and over). Result: The life satisfaction level was highest among the young adult one-person household generation, followed by the middle-aged and the elderly generation. The common factors affecting life satisfaction of the three generations were physical as well as mental health, including self-esteem and depression. However, there were more factors different from generation to generation. As for the young adult, age, religion, and smoking were significant. As for the middle aged and the elderly, gender (male) and income were significant. Additionally, age, home-ownership and drinking were significant to the elderly generation. Conclusions: As there are differences as well as similarities among the three generations, policies for one-person households need to be devised considering these findings. For all generations, both physical and mental health policies are needed. For young adult strengthening social relations, providing decent jobs, and promoting anti-smoking policy are major agenda, and for the middle-aged and the elderly, assisting in social capital accumulation (for male), providing stable jobs and diverse leisure activities, and securing income. Additionally, for the elderly, expanding the social security system and housing support are needed.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.203-210
• /
• 2019

This study analyzed the size and influence factors of annual average health expenditure according to job type. Using data from the Korea Health Panel (2012), the final analysis was conducted on adults aged 20 years or older, excluding the missing data. Data analysis was done by logistic regression analysis to analyze the factors affecting medical expenditure. As a result of the study, Model 1 showed higher expenditure on medical expenses by skilled workers in agriculture and forestry fishery than those in simple labor. Model 2 was analyzed as having a positive effect on the increase of medical expenditure by the simple worker in the sales of the occupation, statistically significant by sex, marriage, income level and chronic disease. Therefore, it would be necessary to establish social security and health care & welfare policies, in order to grasp the disease with a high frequency rate according to occupation status and activate the physical examination and preventive actions.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.66 no.3
• /
• pp.231-251
• /
• 2014

Recently, Korean government documented the plan to cope with the situation related to rich pensioners of Basic old-age pension. The purpose of this paper is to verify that how many rich pensioners are existing and to evaluate government reform plan's validity and effect. Main results are as follows; firstly, if the definition of rich pensioners is on the top 10%, the proportion of them would form 2.9% of total. And then, an amount of expenditure for them is only 2.6% of total. Secondly, in terms of disposable income, debt, and transfer income from child, the household who would be applied by government's plan is not richer than other household who is in the same living standard. And then, if the government's plan enforced, the effect might be very small. Lastly, the plan of government will discriminate against persons who support their parent. As a result, Basic old-age pension will be worsen. This paper should underline that the government's reform is only the 'hidden' retrenchment strategy in order to introduce a standard of the obligation to support own parent in the state without scientific prediction and serious discussion of negative public opinion. That is why, this is the same as the 'Trojan Horse'.

• 한국사회정책
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.71-104
• /
• 2018

This paper adopts a distributive performance process model of in-work poverty based on labor markets, households, and welfare states and analyzes the 4-11 waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study during 2008-15. Previous studies on in-work poverty have focused on the definitions and concepts of in-work poverty by analyzing employment and unemployment persistence and repetition dynamics, but rarely paid attention to institutional distributive performance. In this regard, this study preforms a stepwise analysis of labor markets, households, and welfare states as a process of income generation in labor markets, satisfaction of welfare needs and income pooling at households, and deduction of social security contribution and income tax as well as receipt of public transfer income at welfare states. Results of empirical analysis show that in-work poverty had been on increase during 2008-11, followed by a decrease between 2012-15. At labor market stages, full time status had the most prominent impact on in-work poverty process, while status by employment and contract type have generated a huge variation as well. At household stages, household work intensity and number of earners contributed to reduction of in-work poverty, but the relations did not seen to be straightforward. However, welfare state played little role in lifting employees out of in-work poverty. In terms of institutional distributive process, in-work poverty was prevalent in either household-welfare state stage or labor market-household-welfare stage. Non-vulnerable group in terms of in-risk poverty was around 80% of the sample during the period of analysis, the size of which has remained constant.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.335-348
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study is to classify the cities on sustainability assessment score studied in advance using cluster analysis, to present efficient management and policy direction based on analysis of sustainability index in 45 cities of all over Gyeongsangnam and Gyeongsangbuk-do. According to the results of cluster analysis, 45 cities were classed into 4 clusters by "livable-welfare city", "environmental -ecological city", "scientific-technological city", and "industrial-economic city". The livable-welfare cities must keep superior environmental sustainability, promote small and medium sized business on regional characteristic. The environmental-ecological cities have to change agriculture into future environmental industry such as ecotourism, bio-industry and landscape agriculture. The scientific-technological cities are going to need support of government scale such as income enlargement of citizen and stable job security. Finally, the industrial-economic cities must increase environmental management plants and improve quality of life through securing green spaces, maintaining public peace and applying UIS because of low quality of environment and life.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.22 no.4 s.28
• /
• pp.578-590
• /
• 1989

This study was conducted to assess the equity in the regional insurance scheme through analysis of the computerized data from one regional insurance society and National Federation of Medical Insurance. We analysed the insurance contribution and benefit by the classes based on total and income-related contribution per household. The major findings of this study are as follows : 1. The average proportion of income-related contribution among the total was 39.2% and the upper classes show higher proportion of the income-related contribution. 2. The upper classes show higher health care utilization rate than the lower classes. It suggests that the lower classes have relatively large unmet medical needs. 3. The analysis through the Lorenz curve reveals that there exists transference of contributions from the upper to lower classes. But the cumulative percentage of insurance benefit is smaller than that of the number of the insured. It implies that regional medical insurance scheme in Korea has still some inequity in the context of social security principles.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.57 no.2
• /
• pp.165-184
• /
• 2005

Japan has remained a welfare laggard among advanced industrial democracies. Therefore, the introduction of the public long-term care insurance(koteki kaigo hoken in Japanese) in April of 2000 looks very unique in terms of the Japanese social security tradition, because it can be interpreted as the expansion of social security system and the weakening of the market power over the livelihood of the ordinary people. In the era of globalization, in which even the highly developed welfare states are forced to shrink their social security systems, Japan, a welfare laggard, looks like being headed to the opposite direction. This article aims to define the character of the public long-term care insurance, and thereby, to evaluate the recent social policy of the Japanese government. This study follows the social democratic model in the study of the welfare state development, which assumes that, under the condition of a weak social democratic party and a fragmented labor movement, the introduction of the long-term care insurance is not equal to the improvement of the Japanese social security system. The main argument of this article is that the long-term care insurance, notwithstanding its appearance as an expansion of public sphere, is part of market-oriented neo-liberal social reforms, which have remained the main feature of the Japanese social policies since the mid-1970's. For this, this study will do a longitudinal analysis on the social consequences of the long-term care insurance incurred to the Japanese social security system for the long-term care, focusing on the income redistribution, the marketization of long-term care sector and the changes in the financial burden of the government, social insurers and general citizens.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.172-184
• /
• 2016

Background: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of occurrence and reoccurrence of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) on transition to poverty and persistence of poverty in South Korea. Methods: The data of the year 2008-2011 from the Korea Health Panel were used. CHE was defined as the share of total health expenditure in a household out of a household's total income at various threshold levels (more than 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). The effect of catastrophic expenditure on transition to poverty and persistence of poverty was analyzed through multivariate logistic regression. Results: The shares of households facing CHE at various threshold levels have increased gradually with 37.7%, 21%, 13.1%, and 9.5% in 2011. Households facing CHE were more likely to experience transition to poverty at thresholds level of more than 5% and 20% in 2010 set. Households facing CHE seemed to experience persistence of poverty, but it was not statistically significant. About 40% of households facing CHE in 2009 encountered another shock of CHE in 2010. Households without CHE seemed to experience more transition to poverty and persistence of poverty, but it was not statistically significant. For household with multiple CHE, those with medical aid were more likely to experience transition to poverty with statistical significance, but the statistical significance disappeared in case of persistence of poverty. Conclusion: The Korean health system needs to be improved to serve as a social security net for addressing transition to poverty and persistence of poverty due to facing CHE.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
• /
• no.60
• /
• pp.133-173
• /
• 2018

This paper analyzes the consistency and the discrepancy between system and practices of the old age pension(Nyunronyungeum) in North Korea. The literature review is conducted to analyze the system. Specifically, the North Korean law and North Korean dictionaries were carefully examined. The interviews with 25 North Korean refugees were conducted to grasp the exact state of the old age pension in North Korea. Major findings are as follows: the consistency between system and practices of the old age pension in North Korea is identified only certain portions of that. Beneficiaries(blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, farmers, soldiers, and employees in foreign-invested enterprises), contribution periods, earning-related schemes, the totalization of periods of coverage(workplace transitions), the absence of double benefits and early retirement pension, and the delivery system around Civic Service offices(Dong offices) are confirmed by complete consistency. Preservation age, variations in the implementation of the pension system by region, and premium of the old age pension are confirmed by partial consistency. The length of service, the labor regulation, lump-sum payment, and double dipping are confirmed by discrepancies. It's important that this study brings about a better understanding the old age pension in North Korea through various original texts of North Korea and interviews with refugees. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the policy production for the age income security system after the unification and to the spread of unification perspectives.

• 한국사회정책
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.3-43
• /
• 2018

The digital revolution has brought about both positive expectations and negative concerns. Many experts predict that the current technological revolution, so-called "Fourth Industrial Revolution", which is expected to increase productivity in a disruptive way, has significant implications on employment and the labor market. In subsequence, the possible demise of the traditional employment system could markedly undermine the comtemporary welfare state. As a result, basic income has emerged as an alternative. However, little welfare state research has conducted the systematic review on the impact of the present technological revolution on employment and welfare states. In this paper, we will start to review the gist of the digital revolution and critically review recent studies on its effects on employment and welfare states together with actual case studies. In particular, we will investigate the experiences of platform economies of Uber and Amazon Mechanical Turk, and the German experience from 'Work 4.0'. Finally, we will discuss key issues of future welfare state reforms. This research argues that the effects of the technological revolution on employment and welfare state policies would be enormous, but they will be most likely to be mediated by domestic political and policy institutions. It emphasizes the importance of high-quality social investment that would enable individuals to flexibly adapt technological changes and support creative human capital resource. But, high-quality social investment could not be sustained without the decent social protection system that universally provides security to people.