• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2005

Many of the non-communicable diseases, which are now the major causes of death and disability worldwide, can be linked to our lifestyles, and thus to what eat The life-style related risk factors are - to a great extent - preventable. Public health nutrition (PHN) policies are means through which govemments can have an enornous impact on the reduction of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular disease, by creating and supporting environments which enable healthier food choices and which are conducive to healthy nutrition behavior. More and more countries are developing nutrition policies. Nutrition policies are tools through which governments can intervene and control nutrition-related concerns throughout all levels of society. The need for more concerted action in the Republic of Korea is demonstrated, by showing the lack of priority for nutrition issues. Four recommendations for action are made; the first recommendation places emphasis on the need to implement a structure at the political level, through which nutrition concerns can be addressed, such as a nutrition unit within the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The second recommendation stresses the need for a strong nutrition advocacy strategy, to raise the awareness of the gains that can be achieved by promoting healthy nutrition. The third recommendation calls for more vigorous regulations and stricter enforcement of food and nutrition advertisement, and the fourth recommendation emphasizes the need for a settings-bsed approach to nutrition interventions. Acknowledging the developments that have already occurred in Korea, public health nutrition has yet to become a priority on the agenda of policy makers in Korea.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.165-193
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• 2016

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of the KORUS FTA and the TPP Agreement to assess the current state of affairs in international trade rules for the pharmaceutical industry. Intellectual property rights as well as public health related regulations have evolved to strengthen the position of innovator drug companies. In particular, the TPP Agreement which adopted data exclusivity for biologics for the first time, will set the standard for the future. Apart from this however, the TPP Agreement has not gone further than the KORUS FTA and in some respects, even contains greater policy flexibilities and provisions for market access than the KORUS FTA. Korea should take advantage of such differences when and if she must engage in negotiations to join the TPP Agreement or a renegotiation of the KORUS FTA.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.143-157
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• 2021

International organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, and major developed countries recognize the seriousness of air pollution. International organizations such as the International Maritime Organization have also implemented various regulations to reduce air pollution from ships. In line with this international trend, the government has also enacted a special law on improving air quality in port areas, and is making efforts to reduce air pollution caused by ports. The purpose of the Special Act is to implement comprehensive policies to improve air quality in port areas. This study sought to identify the emissions of each source of air pollutants originating from the port and prepare basic data on setting the policy priorities. To this end, the analysis was conducted in six categories: ships, vehicles, loading and unloading equipment, railways, unloading/wild ash dust, road ash dust, and the methodology presented by the European Environment Agency(EEA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). The pollutants subject to analysis were analyzed for carbon monoxide(CO), nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur oxides(SOX), total airborne materials(TSP), particulate matter(PM10, PM2.5), and ammonia(NH3). The analysis showed a total of 7,122 tons of emissions. By substance, NOX accounted for the largest portion of 5,084 tons, followed by CO (984 tons), SOX (530 tons), and TSP (335 tons). By source of emissions, ships accounted for the largest portion with 4,107 tons, followed by vehicles with 2,622 tons, showing high emissions. This proved to be the main cause of port air pollution, with 57.6% and 36.8% of total emissions, respectively, suggesting the need for countermeasures against these sources.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.17-38
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to identify the Korean government's policies and responses to migrants with HIV/AIDS and their legal grounds, and to examine the effectiveness of the HIV/AIDS laws and regulations in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. For the purpose, this study have conducted an extensive literature review and in-depth interviews with relevant government officials, experts and NGO leaders in East Asian countries including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Mongolia. The results show that Korea maintains the strictest policies and implements strong rules and regulations against migrants with HIV, keeping them from entering and staying in the country by any means. Regarding the results, this study discusses issues and problems raised by the Korean government's HIV/AIDS policy for migrants in terms of public health and human rights.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.745-756
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• 2023

Growing stringent global regulations in Korea poses a threat to corporate sustainability. Companies must respond strategically to navigate these regulations and avoid greenwashing. Objective of this research was to analyze how Korean companies are responding to the global trend of reducing plastic use and propose improved management strategies. Seven indicators were developed to assess companies' post-plastic strategies and applied to analyze the sustainability reports of Amore Pacific and LG Household & HealthCare. These indicators included, 1) disclosure of plastic raw materials used by weight or volume, 2) disclosure of recycled plastic raw materials used by weight or volume, 3) disclosure of waste recycling, reuse amounts, and disposal using waste treatment method 4) strategies to reduce environmental impact of plastics, 5) plastic packaging, reduce, recycle, reuse, and composting (in the real environment), 6) plastic management roadmap for the circular economy, and 7) education for sustainable plastic management. Based on the review of considered companies, we propose in-listed sustainable plastics management strategies: disclosing the ratio of plastic raw materials and recycled raw materials for all products, considering recycling rate throughout the product value chain, and not only for the production phase, reviewing carbon dioxide emissions based on life cycle assessment rather than reducing plastic consumption, studying the biodegradability of biodegradable plastics in natural environment such as soil, considering the consumer's perspective.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.104-111
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• 2016

Our nation has experienced remarkable growth over the half a century. Nonetheless, there is still much room for improvement in the area of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS). In particular, frequency and severity of industrial accidents did not considerably improve compared to the economic and social progress we made. The main objective of this research is to analyze what plans and actions are required for companies to promote industrial safety by 1) fostering functional competencies of EHS staffs and 2) effectively and proactively responding to rapidly changing EHS environment. For this research, EHS staffs from five large companies in Korea were surveyed. Most respondents indicated that one of key expertise required by EHS staffs is capabilities to effectively deal with changes to various domestic and international EHS-related laws and regulations. Furthermore, a predominant number of respondents commented that it is imperative for EHS staffs to have a broad knowledge of business management. As for internal issues that EHS staffs encounter within their organizations, many pointed out that their EHS vision is not sufficiently shared throughout the organization, and that the rules of leadership are critical in solving this issue. On the other hand, the survey respondents also raised an issue of limited EHS-related investments due to slow economy. As a solution, they proposed ways to align EHS organization's performance with the company's performance. Based on this survey, issues and solutions for EHS organizations were identified. Results of this research can benefit companies that plan to newly establish or further expand EHS organization.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.330-339
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• 2021

Objectives: Tobacco control in Indonesia is very lenient compared to international standards. This study explored the perspectives of tobacco control stakeholders (TCSs) on the likelihood of advancing tobacco marketing regulation in Indonesia. Methods: Data were collected from TCSs who were members of the Indonesia Tobacco Control Network group in a modified Delphi study. We collected the data in 2 waves using a questionnaire that comprised a set of closed and open-ended questions. For this paper, we analysed 2 of the 3 sections of the questionnaire: (1) tobacco advertising, promotions, and sponsorship (TAPS) bans, and (2) marketing and retailing regulations. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the scores using Stata/IC.13 and summarised the comments for each item. Results: The TCSs viewed the measures/strategies across all aspects of TAPS and tobacco marketing regulation as highly desirable, but provided varied responses on their feasibility. They rated political feasibility lower than technical feasibility for most measures. Advancing TAPS measures and prohibition of selling to minors were considered more attainable by sub-national governments, while prohibition of tobacco corporate social responsibility was considered as the least feasible measure in the next 5 years. Conclusions: Despite little optimism for substantial national-level change, there is a positive expectation that sub-national governments will strengthen their tobacco control regulation. It is paramount that the government reduce tobacco industry leverage by implementing Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Extending advocacy networks beyond tobacco control groups and framing tobacco control more effectively are necessary steps.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.479-489
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• 2021

Background: During 2011, a study was undertaken to assess safety conditions in Serbian underground coalmines by analysis of injury data. The study covered all Serbian coalmines, identified week spots from the aspect of safety, and recommended possible courses of action. Since then, Serbia has made changes to safety and health legislation; all coalmines introduced new preventive measures, adopted international standards, and made procedures for risk management. After 10 years a new study has been performed to analyze the impact of these changes. Materials and methods: In this study, the injuries that have occurred in the Serbian underground coal mines over the last 20 years were analyzed. Statistical data analysis was performed by IBM SPSS Statistics v23. The injuries that occurred in the last ten years were compared with the results of the previous study (2000-2009). The average values of injury rates for both periods were compared for each of the categories (severity, age, body part, qualification), and the results were presented as absolute difference or percentile difference. Results: The results showed reduction in the number of injuries in the category of 20-30 years old workers, where the new training procedures for workers, which were set by mandatory legal regulations, certainly contributed. They also showed an increase in the number of injuries in the category of old workers, which indicates that the law did not have a positive effect on this category. Conclusion: The total number of injuries is still high; therefore, it is necessary to introduce mechanization and automation in mines and have a better policy for older workers who retire later nowadays.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.211-224
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• 2018

Purpose: It can easily be understood that more rules and regulations need to be imposed on the medical device industry due to its impact on public health and hygiene. Domestic medical device manufacturers are thus required to comply with the requirements specified in the good manufacturing practice (GMP) system, and it is essential to abide by the international standards as well to sustain their global competitiveness. The main purpose of this study is to review the guidelines of the medical device GMP system in Korea and propose future directions for further enhancement of the GMP system. Methods: Specific requirements prescribed in international standards, such as ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016, ISO 14971:2012, and ISO 14155:2011, are analyzed and compared with the domestic GMP system. Results: It has been observed that the generic international standard related to quality management system, ISO 9001:2015, lays out the foundations for the development of quality management system relevant to medical device industry, ISO 13485:2003, with which the domestic GMP system is fully compatible. Further, several important aspects of risk management and clinical trials of medical devices are also recognized and included in the domestic medical device GMP system. Conclusion: Even though specific requirements of individual ISO standards are slightly different from each other, their overall structure and framework may contribute to the development and enhancement of globally competitive GMP system of the domestic medical device industry.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.179-201
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• 2018

Food labelling rules reflect the interaction of a number of factors such as industry needs for marketing flexibility and minimal regulations, consumer's rights to know what is in the product and public health concerns. However, food labelling rules could apply to international trade as non-tariff barriers so it is necessary to make multilateral harmonization of food labelling rules. For this, GATT XX, SPS, and TBT of the WTO can serve as jurisprudence in agreements. Lgnoring the safety problems of GM food, which is currently a worldwide issue, it is a situation that needs international harmonization of GM food labelling methods, harmonization of technical terms which are used in Korean law, and clear interpretation criteria for GM food labelling methods and contents are vital for sustainable trade in agricultural products. Therefore, this study proposes interpretation criteria through major trade countries' GM food labelling methods and an examination of Korean law. Furthermore, this study proposes international harmonization guidelines for GM food in the future.