• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.45-58
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• 2007

Despite the ubiquitous practice of environmental impact assessment around the world, social impact assessment has been alienated from assessment process from the beginning. Not until 1993 was 'Interorganizational Committee' established in the United States to prepare for 'Principles and Guidelines for Social Impact Assessment.' This study is an attempt to critically examine US 'Principles and Guidelines.' First, the study traces history of social impact assessment to reveal why the latter became "the orphan in the assessment process." Second, it critically reviews 'Principles and Guidelines' to find its merits and defects. For instance, a principle regarding environmental justice is perceived as necessary as society has become conscious of social justice and equity while putting too much emphasis on predictive traits of social impact assessments only fosters "checklist mentality." Third, the study reflects on 'Principles and Guidelines' in particular and social impact assessment in general in order to probe what is social impact assessment. To do so, it pays attention to scholars, who have criticized technocratic and procedural elements of 'Principles and Guidelines.' They show that social impact assessment is philosophically and methodologically teleological in that "fluid and contested meanings" between social impacts and the public are meaningful in itself. And simple procedural guarantee of the public involvement, they argue, is not enough to define social impacts. Lastly, from the critical analysis of 'Principles and Guideline,' the study looks for alternatives to improve how to assess social impacts in a Korean context.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to understand the process and characteristics of social impact caused by development projects through research and analysis on issues presented during development projects carried out in Korea. Furthermore, on the basis this analysis, this study proposes possible improvement measure environmental impact assessment for minimizing social impact of development projects in the future. Issues related to development projects are generated mainly by the following three causes. Initial social impact can occur when a development project directly causes certain changes in natural, living and social environment. Operational problems related to assessment are another cause of social impact, and it can also occur when changes in natural and living environment work in tandem with social environment sphere. Social impact of development projects is not brought about solely by changes in social environment, but is the result of interaction of factors such as changes in social, natural, living environment and problems related to assessment or operation/management. As to why the current environmental impact assessment could not provide satisfactory solution to the issues mentioned above, this study suggests the following reasons: limitations of assessment method used in social environment category, difficulties in defining assessment criteria, limitations inherent in criterion referenced assessment method, insufficient issue-making in local community, and lack of participation on the part of local residents. Possible solutions for these limitations are as follows: 1) To identify local issues in social environment category through participation of local experts in scoping stage, 2) To adopt deliberative method for local participation, 3) To utilize social survey technique.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.9 no.4 s.21
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• pp.9-18
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• 2003

The objectives of the study are to improve techniques for social impact assessment and to suggest their measuring methods to apply in small scale rural development projects. Population, residence, industries, and traffic volumes were selected to measure the social and economic impact assessment of Seongeup agricultural water development project in Jeju Province. Existing data gathering methods were used to estimate the changes of population and traffic volumes. Interview schedule for villagers was applied to estimate the residents' satisfaction to living environments. Interview schedule for experts was applied to estimate agricultural productivity and land price. The results of social and economic impact assessment show that there will be considerable changes in living environments, agricultural productivity, and land price. On the contrary, the project will make little impacts on the changes of population, em-ployment, and traffic volumes.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.51-65
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• 2014

ODA projects such as multi-purpose dam, industrial complex, road construction etc. have resulted in environmental damage and resident relocation including destruction of site of living. Even the grandiose developments as ODA projects have made clear the value clashes between development and environmental conservation, and have brought about conflicts between public interests and public environmental right, and the discordance between public interests and private property rights in the recipient country. This study summarizes and analyses the Korea's ODA projects and will suggest the public participation and governance system based on Saemaul Movement, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment based on the guideline of OECD DAC, and emphasize Strategic Environmental Assessment and Social Impact Assessment in the procedure of ODA projects. In the future the ODA project should be implemented for the overcome of poverty and response to climate change based on the experience and trial and errors of Korea's compact growth and past ODA projects.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.789-799
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• 2012

The major causes of environmental and social conflicts were analyzed through the samples of the construction and the management for tidal power plant abroad and inland. Based on the results, the eco-friendly and socially acceptable policy instruments for decreasing the scope and intensity of the conflicts were explored. Regarding environment issues, it was found that the tidal power project resulted in decreasing in tidal range and area of intertidal zone and in damaging to tidal flat and wetland conservation area. Also there are the characteristic change of tidal current and biological effect, etc. The major environmental and social conflicts were resulted from the distrust of environmental results to environmental impact assessment and prior environmental review and the distrust of project feasibility study, and insufficient activities of public participation. In this study, introduction to joint fact-finding(JFF) was reviewed as the measure of minimizing environmental and social conflicts.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.269-279
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• 2011

Sustainability assessments tend to integrate ecological, social, and economic concerns. Sustainability assessment could be considered the highest rung in the assessment ladder. Broad strategies that seek to integrate individual SEA(Strategic Environmental Assessment) could be subjected to a sustainability assessment. Sustainability assessment could incorporate global and transboundary effects and priorities into SEA and project-level EIA(Environmental Impact Assessment). SEA could provide an environmental context and direction for project-level EIA. Procedural and substantive EIA requirements can be addressed through tiering such as sustainability assessment, SEA, project-level EIA. In Korea, PERS(Prior Environmental Review System) that has been utilized to evaluate administrative plans related with various kinds of development projects should be evolved not only to incorporate environmental impacts into early stage decision-making, but also to implicate sustainability assessments that include social equity and economic efficiency. Integration of SEA and sustainability assessment can be initiated through the application of DPSIR (Driving Force - Pressure - State - Impact - Response ) framework that was developed by European Environmental Agency.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.165-185
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• 2004

Assessment in Socio-economic items should be used to estimate social influence when policies and projects were introduced. To estimate current situation of socio-economic items 19 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of large scale projects were analyzed. The projects were selected based on magnitude of social impact when the projects were implemented. Environmental Impact Statement was categorized into line projects(road construction, railroad construction, stream development, etc), and surface projects(energy development, wetland reclamation, recreation and sport development, and housing and residential development, etc) thus being chosen for 19 projects in each categories. This report was based on the analysis of 7 items in socio-economic environmental items(i.e., population, residents, industry, public facilities, education, transport and historical monument). Most EIS did not follow the regulation suggested by Ministry of Environment, and only current circumstances were briefly described. Indifference of in-depth analysis of socioeconomic environmental items would influence the process of social and environment impact negatively in the midst of construction of National Projects such as Outer Circle Seoul Highways, Saemankeum Reclamation Projects, etc. This abrupt halt of construction was mostly based on a lack of public hearing or public participation. Socio-economic items are also very much lacking in quantitative method and strengthening socio-economic environmental items is needed via checklist or matrix that brings decision-makers better ideas objectively.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.77-88
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• 1994

When we conduct environmental impact assessment, main contents consist of summary, project outline, environmental conditions, environmental impacts due to the project, mitigation devices, and alternative measures of harmful impact on environment. In this Paper, to understand how they really conduct air quality impact assessment and prediction and examine their effectiveness, we considered the provisions and actual case of environmental impact assessment in Korea with that in Japan. As a result, we propose a method of improving air quality impact assessment and Prediction, such as reflection of the result in environmental impact assessment, detailed assessment focused on relatively important environmental impact elements, field measurement investigation over four season and seven sucessive days, the uniformity of units, the proper model development to predict environmental concentration and a biennial environmental impact assessment for ex post management.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.197-204
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• 2010

새만금사업, 신행정수도(행정중심복합도시, 세종시), 한반도 대운하사업(4대강 살리기사업) 등과 같은 대형국책사업은 대통령 선거공약으로 제시되었다. 그러한 대형국책사업이 국가의 이익을 위해 꼭 필요한 것으로 제시되었다 하더라도, 그 결과는 좋은 의도와는 다르게 나타날 수도 있다. 대통령 선거후 환경정책기본법과 환경영향평가법에 따라 대형국책사업에 대한 사전환경성검토(전략환경평가)와 환경영향평가가 이뤄졌지만, 예상하지 못했던 정치적, 사회경제적, 환경적 갈등이 발생하였다. 이러한 개발 및 환경 갈등의 원인은 여러 측면에서 찾을 수 있겠지만, 사회경제적 항목을 중심으로 하는 사회영향평가의 미흡을 그 원인으로 제시하는 연구가 많다. 대규모 국책사업을 둘러싼 개발 및 환경 갈등을 해소하기 위해, 우리나라와 외국의 사회영향평가의 현황과 연구 동향을 고찰하고, 국책사업의 주요 쟁점의 분석을 통하여 사회영향평가의 중요성과 필요성을 강조하였다. 그리고 사회영향평가의 도입, 강화, 지침 마련에 대해 다음과 같이 제안하였다. 첫째, 현재의 사전환경성검토(전략환경평가)시에 사회적 통합, 경제적 측면(B/C분석, 비용, 고용 등), 법제적 측면, 한반도 통일이나 국가균형발전 등과 같은 사회경제적 항목을 평가항목에 추가함으로써 사회영향평가를 도입하고; 둘째, 환경영향평가 시에 공공시설, 교육, 교통, 문화재, 경제적 타당성, 고용, 토지이용을 현재의 사회경제평가항목에 추가시켜 사회영향평가를 보다 강화시키고; 셋째, 한국의 환경적, 정치적, 경제적, 사회적, 문화적 상황을 반영하여(사회영향평가의 원리와 지침(가칭))을 마련하도록 한다.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.275-289
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• 2005

In Korea, health-related items under current EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) system can only be found in the categories of hygiene and public health. However, environment and public health are not adequately connected and also health is underestimated even though health is an important component of environmental assessments. As a result, health is not well integrated within criteria for investigating the impacts on environment. International trends in HIA (Health Impact Assessment) to strengthen the connection between environment and health were investigated in this research. Definitions, functions, circumstances, and merits of HIA in foreign countries were compared. By collecting and analyzing international organizations' and other countries' data related with HIA and EIA, preceding conditions and execution plans were suggested to link EIA and HIA from SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment) aspects and to successfully accomplish EIA in Korea. According to this research, EHIA (Environmental Health Impact Assessment) can predict and manage the results of economical development only under the principles of inhabitants' participation, sustainability, and social justice. EHIA should be modified and improved towards increasing regional and national capabilities. For this, preparation of adequate procedure is required to connect EIA and HIA.