• Title/Summary/Keyword: Sustainability and Soundness

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Biocultural diversity and traditional ecological knowledge in island regions of Southwestern Korea

  • Hong, Sun-Kee
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.137-147
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    • 2011
  • In 2009, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the unique outstanding ecosystem biodiversity and distinct ecocultural values of the Shinan Dadohae Biosphere Reserve in the island region. The Dadohae area, which has been sustainably conserved for scores of years, boasts not only a unique ecosystem, but also has residents with a wide range of traditional ecological knowledge. In terms of understanding the soundness of the ecosystem network known as the landscape system, the recent expansion of environmental development has served to heighten the degree of consideration given not only to biodiversity, which has long been used as an indicator to assess ecosystem soundness, but also to assess cultural diversity. Man has used the surrounding landscape and living organisms as his life resources since the beginning. Moreover, whenever necessary, man has developed new species through cultivation. Biodiversity became a foundation that facilitated establishing cultural diversity such as food and housing. Such ecological knowledge has been conveyed not only to adjacent regions, but also at the international level. The recent rapid changes in the Dadohae area island ecosystem caused by the transformation of fishing grounds by such factors as climate change, excess human activities, and marine pollution, is an epoch event in environmental history that shows that the balance between man and nature has become skewed. Furthermore, this issue has moved beyond the biodiversity and landscape diversity level to become an issue that should be addressed at the cultural diversity level. To this end, the time has come to pay close attention to this issue.

Groundwater Management Pradigm Shift and Policy Directions for Integrated Water Management in Korea (통합 물관리를 위한 우리나라 지하수 관리 패러다임 전환과 정책방향)

  • Hyun, Yunjung;Han, Hye Jin
    • Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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    • v.26 no.6
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    • pp.176-185
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    • 2021
  • This paper aims to develop a new paradigm for groundwater management which is compatible with integrated water management policies in Korea. Three key roles of groundwater are defined for addressing water cycle distortion, high water stress, water quality degradation, aquatic ecosystems deterioration, and water-related hazards. Firstly, groundwater plays an important role in contributing soundness of water cycle as a component of water cycle. Secondly, it is a local water resource to ensure water supply sustainability. Thirdly, groundwater is an essential water resource for drought and emergencies. In order to support the groundwater roles, we propose a paradigm shift for groundwater management and policy directions towards integrated water management. The new paradigm consists of managements for sound water cycle on a watershed scale and groundwater environment(quantity, quality, and groundwater dependent ecosystems) managements for both human and nature. A prospective management also constitutes the new paradigm. In addition, this paper proposes four policy directions in groundwater management. The policies emphasize the integrated management of groundwater and surface water, management of groundwater environment(quantity, quality, and groundwater dependent ecosystems), management of groundwater uses for water sustainability and security, and enhancement of groundwater publicity.

FedEx Earth Smart: Practices of Environment-Friendly Management

  • Jung, Young-Su
    • The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
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    • v.3 no.4
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    • pp.21-27
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    • 2015
  • With the recent increasing interest in sustainability management, the latest environmental report tends to be substituted by the expanded sustainability management report. In this work, I would like to introduce the management pattern of a global enterprise that values environmental soundness (environmental friendly) and implements eco-friendly measures. The enterprise chosen in this study is FedEx. In this article, FedEx case is presented how companies can adopt environmental friendly management in their businesses. FedEx has maintained an eco-friendly management since the introduction of the company's eco-friendly transport trucks in 2003, following its development in 2000. In 2005, it installed a solar power plant that can supply up to 80% of the electricity consumed by Oakland Logistics Center in California, USA. FedEx has published the "Global Enterprise Citizenship Report," which contains its business developments in 2009. FedEx has worked hard to minimize the influence caused by packaging of goods to the environment and appealed to customers to use recycled products as much as they can. FedEx also encourages customers to use packaging materials efficiently. A considerable amount of energy has been expended in the eco-friendly programs of FedEx. Although thousands of FedEx vehicles and aircraft operate daily with using large amounts of electricity and fuel, FedEx focuses on energy savings and global environment protection.

The Landscape Value of Asan Oeam-ri's Folk Village as Cultural Heritage (아산 외암마을 토속경관의 문화유산적 가치)

  • Shin, Sang Sup
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.44 no.1
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    • pp.30-51
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    • 2011
  • During the process of modernization, many rural villages in Korea have experienced degeneration and breakdown, losing sustainability. However, Oeam village in Asan City, South Chungcheong Province (State-designated cultural heritage, Important Folk Material No. 236) has established itself as a unique folk village, which evolves with sustainability, pursuing the revival of Neo-traditionalism. Oeam village is a tribal village of the Yis from the Yean region and has maintained environmental, economic, and social sustainability and soundness for over five centuries. Thus, the village has sustained itself well enough to be a cultural asset with 'Outstanding Universal Value', in terms of its value as world cultural heritage. The village maintains its own identity, filled with a variety of traditional and scenic cultural assets that symbolize a gentry village. Those assets include Confucian sceneries (head family houses, ancestral shrines, tombs, gravestones, commemorative monuments, and pavilions), various assets of folk religion (totem poles, protective trees at the entrance of a village, shrines for mountain spirits, village forests), tangible and intangible cultural assets related to daily lives (vigorous family activities, rigorous ancestral rituals, family rituals, collective agriculture and protection of ecosystem), which have all been well preserved and inherited. In particular, this village is an example of a well-being community with a well-preserved folksy atmosphere, which is based on environmentally sound settlements (nature + economy + environment + community) in a village established according to geomancy, East Asia's unique principle of environmental design. In addition, the village has kept the sustainability and authenticity for more than 500 years, combining restraint towards the environment and the view of the environment which respects the natural order and cultural values (capacity + healthy + sustainability). Therefore, the Oeam folk village can be a representative example of a folksy and scenic Korean community which falls into the category of IV (to exemplify an outstanding type of building, architectural or technological ensemble, or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history) and V (to exemplify an outstanding traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of cultures, or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change) of Unesco's World Cultural Heritage.

Sustainable Healthcare System Needs to be Rebuilt (지속 가능한 의료시스템 재건이 필요하다)

  • Lee, Sun-Hee
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.245-246
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    • 2022
  • Concerns about a global economic recession are rising following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Accordingly, government entities, which are committed to overcome two barriers to severe inflation and economic recession, are showing high interest in spending management so as not to undermine fiscal soundness. Since the health care sector especially accounts for a large proportion of fiscal expenditure, it should be managed in a manner that the expense is appropriately spent. The National Health Insurance System and Healthcare System have secured international competitiveness and reliability by effectively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, considerable efforts should be made to reorganize the welfare and healthcare systems so that they can be sustainable during the post-COVID-19 era and the recession.

Immigration to Korea: A Fiscal Boon or Burden?

  • HUR, JINWOOK
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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    • v.42 no.4
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    • pp.27-58
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    • 2020
  • This paper intends to examine the extent of the fiscal contribution of immigrants to Korea. According to this analysis, the aim is to derive implications pertaining to the direction of Korea's immigration policy as a response to fiscal problems caused by population aging. For this purpose, a macroeconomic model is designed to measure the lifetime net fiscal contribution of immigrants in Korea by visa type, age, and other characteristics. According to this analysis, the sum of the lifetime fiscal contribution for all immigrants in Korea is negative. This implies that immigration policy reforms that increase the inflow size while maintaining the current structure of the foreign population characteristics can rather worsen Korea's fiscal problems. This finding suggests that immigration policy reform may exacerbate Korea's fiscal soundness if it simply targets the maintenance of the numerical balance of the demographic structure.

On Characteristics of the Growth of Regional Credit Unions in Korea (한국 지역신협의 성장의 특징)

  • Kim, Myoungrok;Choi, Jin-Bae
    • Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.75-90
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    • 2016
  • It is unique from other financial institutions that credit unions in Korea have been developed as voluntary activity for enhancing the financial access of the poor in 1960s. However, currently some raise criticism that the cooperative identity as voluntary movement has been weaker. This paper endeavor to analyze the growth of credit unions during 2000s and explain what the implications of their growth are, using data from National Credit Union Federation of Korea. Our findings are as follows; firstly, the development of credit unions in 2000s are able to be regarded as a reflection of the rationale of advocate for quantitative growth. Secondly, the growth of credit unions are mostly dependant on non-taxable deposit, large loan, and collateralized loan which can lead to weaken the identity as voluntary cooperatives. Thirdly, the strategy of quantitative growth cannot be helpful for soundness of asset and profitability, eventually weakening their sustainability.

A Study on the Principles and Applications of Environmental Planning Towards Sustainable Science Parks : A Case Study for Developing Osong Bio-Health Science Technopolis (지속가능한 과학단지 환경계획의 원리와 적용 : 오송생명과학단지 개발사업을 사례로)

  • Kim, Do-Hyung
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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    • v.41 no.6 s.117
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    • pp.682-700
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    • 2006
  • This study aims to show a model of environmental planning towards sustainable science parks. For the purpose of this study, an analysis of the environment of green space at sustainable science parks as pertaining to environmental soundness, ecological stability and landscape aesthetics is applied as a case study to Osong Bio-Health Science Technopolis, a developmental promoted district. Considering the factors resulting from Habitat Agenda(II) and other preceding studies, this study derives fifteen elements of environmental planning for sustainable science parks. A questionnaire/survey was conducted with relation to these fifteen elements to officials who would be moved to Osong Bio-Health Science Technopolis. From this survey, it is shown that respondents have a strong awareness that for the sustainable environment of a science park, the park should preserve as much green space as possible, and that the park should be in harmony with the surrounding natural environment. The practice of forestation at sustainable science parks not only develops a healthy environment that promotes an image of green, but also promotes a stable ecological system. As such, this study suggests alternatives to environmental planning from the perspective of landscape ecology by assessing the project of developing Osong Bio-Health Science Technopolis. To continuously maintain landscape aesthetics, one needs to control the height of buildings, lest the forests should be hidden by the buildings.

A Study on the Impact of ESG Performance on Firm Risk (ESG 성과가 기업위험에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Jung-Hyuck Choy
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.9 no.3
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    • pp.19-26
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    • 2023
  • The impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance on investors' decision-making is growing. Investors' focus on the financial performance of firms in the past is expanding to the non-financial performance of the interests of stakeholders surrounding firms. Against this backdrop, this study conducted a panel regression analysis on firms evaluated by Korea Corporate Governance Service to analyze the impact of ESG performance, a firm's non-financial performance, on firm risk. According to the analysis, ESG performance has a negative (-) effect on all three firm risks (systematic risk, unsystematic risk, and total risk), indicating that the stakeholder theory and risk management theory are supported. The implications of this study are: First, ESG reduces not only unsystematic risk but also broad and indiscriminate systematic risk; Second, investors can reduce the risk of their investment portfolio by executing ESG investments; Third, companies can achieve stable financial performance even in adverse circumstances by utilizing the insurance function of ESG management; Lastly, the government can enhance the stability of the financial market while improving the financial soundness of firms through reasonable ESG-related regulations.

An Empirical Study on Factors Affecting the Survival of Social Enterprises Using Non-Financial Information (비재무정보를 이용한 사회적기업의 생존에 영향을 미치는 요인에 관한 실증연구)

  • Hyeok Kim;Dong Myung Lee;Gi Jung Nam
    • Journal of Industrial Convergence
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.111-122
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    • 2023
  • The purpose of this study is to verify the factors affecting survival time by estimating survival rate and survival time using non-financial information of social enterprises using credit guarantee in credit guarantee institutions, and provide information to stakeholders to improve survival rate and employ to contribute to maintaining and expanding the As a research method, survival analysis was performed using a non-parametric analysis method, Kaplan-Meier Analysis. As a sample, 621 companies (577 normal companies, 44 insolvent companies) established between 2009 and 2018 were selected as the target companies. As a result of examining the factors affecting survival time by classifying social enterprise representative information and corporate information, representative credit rating, representative home ownership, credit transaction period, and corporate credit rating were derived as significant variables affecting survival time. In the future, financial institutions will be able to induce corporate soundness by reflecting factors that affect survival when examining loans for social enterprises, contributing to job retention and reduction of social costs. Supporting organizations such as the government and private organizations will be able to use it in various ways, such as policy establishment and education and training for the growth and sustainability of social enterprises. With this study as an opportunity, I hope that research will continue with more interest in the factors influencing social enterprise performance as well as corporate insolvency.