• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.101-130
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• 2012

This study examines mortality change in North Korea and its association with state production and welfare systems. Two main subjects are analyzed. The first theme is to examine the reliability of mortality related data released by North Korea government authorities. Examining inner consistencies among mortality related statistics and comparing with mortality trends in other socialist societies, the study finds that mortality rate was under estimated. Under-estimation of mortality by North Korean authorities is regarded to result not only from political purpose which aims to propagate the regime's superiority but also from enumeration errors of vital statistics based on the residence registration. The second theme is to estimate the change in mortality of North Korean people since the establishment of DPRK, correcting errors of mortality data. Mortality of North Korean people is estimated to have improved largely by the early 1970s, to have been sluggish hereafter, and finally to have increased during the economic hardship period between 1993 and 2008. While large people died during the food crisis in the late 1990s, however the population loss caused by mortality increase was not so great as the proposition of the huge starvation was expected. It is partly because population turbulence occurred not just by mortality increase, rather it has progressed in the joint effects of fertility decline and exodus of North Korean people for food. It is also due to North Korean people's voluntary activities of informal economy. It is also worth noting the high mortality rate of North Korean men. The high mortality of North Korean men is likely due to men's mobilization for long time in army and labor with high risk of accident and their life styles.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.177-219
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• 2016

A commercial advertisement is not only a way of competition but also a medium of communication. Thus, it is under the constitutional protection of the freedom of business (article 15 of the Constitution) as well as the freedom of press [article 21 (1) of the Constitution]. In terms of the freedom of business or competition, it should be noted that an unfair advertising (false or misleading advertisement) can be regulated as an unfair competition, while any restraint on advertising other than unfair one might be doubted as an unjustifiable restraint of trade. In terms of the freedom of press or communication, it is important that article 21 (2) of the Constitution forbids any kind of (prior) censorship, and the Constitutional Court applies this restriction even to commercial advertising. In this article, the applicability of these schemes to advertising of the so-called learned professions, especially physician, are to be examined, and some proposals for the reformation of the current regulatory regime are to be made. Main arguments of this article can be summarized as follows: First, the current regime which requires advance review of physician advertising as prescribed in article 56 (2) no. 9 of Medical Act should be reformed. It does not mean that the current interpretation of article 21 of the Constitution is agreeable. Though a commercial advertising is a way of communication and can be protected by article 21 (1) of the Constitution, it should not be under the prohibition of censorship prescribed by article 21 (2) of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court adopts the opposite view, however. It is doubtful that physician advertising needs some prior restraint, also. Of course, there exists severe informational asymmetry between physicians and patients and medical treatment might harm the life and health of patients irrevocably, so that medical treatment can be discerned from other services. It is civil and criminal liability for medical malpractice and duty to inform and not regulation on physician advertising, to address these differences or problems. Advance review should be abandoned and repelled, or substituted by more unproblematic way of regulation such as an accreditation of reviewed advertising or a self-regulation preformed by physician association independently from the Ministry of Health and Welfare or any other governmental agencies. Second, the substantive criteria for unfair physician advertising also should correspond that of unfair advertising in general. Some might argue that a learned profession, especially medical practice, is totally different from other businesses. It is performed under the professional ethics and should not persue commercial interest; medical practice in Korea is governed by the National Health Insurance system, the stability of which might be endangered when commercial competition in medical practice be allowed. Medical Act as well as the condition of medical practice market do not exclude competition between physicians. The fact is quite the opposite. Physicians are competing even though under the professional ethics and obligations and all the restrictions provided by the National Health Insurance system. In this situation, regulation on physician advertising might constitute unjustifiable restraint of competition, especially a kind of entry barrier for 'new physicians.'

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.24 no.1 s.79
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• pp.129-140
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to understand the labor division between men's housework and market work and to research the change of men's contribution to housework. And it was also examined what kinds of valuables work on a change in men's market work and housework. The information about men's change in the labor division was collected from the biggest 5 news papers in Korea for last five years for this study. And either men's new participation trend to household work did. Words searched for this study were men, labor, family, home, housewife, work, household work, father etc. Korean men have experienced a overloaded breadwinner role and have worked most in the world since 1960s. But Korean men's working time was continuously decreased a little every year. As Korean Companies had fired many worker during IMP economic crisis period, Korean men had to work more than before because of decreased fellows and they should have concentrated on their work at the sacrifice of private life and family-sharing time. On the other hand, some men were started to participate to do housework as a results of long-unemployment and early retirement after this periods. 5 day working system be in forced gradually since 2003 especially make men come back home and interest on housework. So Korean men's housework participation is gradually increasing by the practical application of sex-equitable politics such as 5 day working system and men's suspension regime for baby care. father's increased participation to children education and care, men's new family-oriented life style, dual-sexuality education system, and socially changed perception to husband housemaker. These interrelated trends demands us to shape a new labor division pattern in the family that make change the breadwinner/homemaker conception by the gender role. Now, all of family, men, women, and children have to join housework. It would help women, men, and all families make more human and equitable relationship.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.191-212
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• 1992

This paper discusses the role of money in the process of capital accumulation where financial markets are impeded by contract enforcement problems in the context of overlapping generations framework. In particular, in less developed countries (LDCs) creditors may know little about the repayment capability of potential debtors due to incomplete information so that financial instruments other than money may not acceptable to them. In this paper the impediments to the operation of the private finanical markets are explicitly modelled. We argue that creditors cannot observe actual investment decisions made by the potential borrowers, and as a result, loan contracts may not be fully enforceable. Therefore, a laissez-faire regime may fail to provide the economy with the appropriate financial instruments. Under these circumstances, we introduce a government operated discount window (DW) that acts as an open market buyer of private debt. This theoretical structure represents the practice of governments of many LDCs to provide loans (typically at subsidized interest rates) to preferred borrowers either directly or indirectly through the commercial banking system. It is shown that the DW can substantially overcome impediments to trade which are caused by the credit market failure. An appropriate supply of the DW loan enables producers to purchase the resources they cannot obtain through direct transactions in the credit market. This result obtains even if the DW is subject to the same enforcement constraint that is responsible for the market failure. Thus, the DW intervention implies higher investment and output. However, the operation of the DW may cause inflation. Furthermore, the provision of cheap loans through the DW results in a worse income distribution. Therefore, there is room for welfare enhancing schemes that utilize the higher output to develop. We demonstrate that adequate lump sum taxes-cum-transfers along with the operation of the DW can support an allocation that is Pareto superior to the laissez-faire equilibrium allocation.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.17
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• pp.55-89
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• 2003

What are the international aviation regimes? It is said that they are sets of principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures of international aviation around which aviation actors' (states-actors, intergovernmental aviation organization, international aviation conventions, airlines and their organizations etc.) expectations converge in a given aviation issue-area for the purposes of the human welfare and the operations of the stable civil aviation. In this regards, the purposes of this study are focused on the aviation actors' shifts. Chronologically, international aviation regimes have been developed by some stages as followings; The 1st stage is the period from 1944 Chicago Convention to 1978 US Deregulation Act, when the aviation regulations and rules within the international aviation relations were implemented by Chicago-Bermuda regimes as Christer Jonsson pointed out. In this first stage, the sovereignty for the airspace over their countries is absolute. The second stage is the period from 1978 to '1992 Open Skies Agreement' between US and Netherlands. In this regime, airlines' activities as well as state-actors' have been actuated. The third stage is the period from 1992 to the contemporary. In this stage, airlines' activities for the consumers such as 'Open Skies Agreements', 'e-commerce business', 'airspace open policy within EU area', 'service open policy of WTO', and 'airlines' strategic alliance' are the central focal points in the world aviation relationship. In the conclusion, this phenomenon of the core actors in the international aviation rules has been shifted from the states-actors to the non-states actors especially, operating airlines, or consuming customers. Finally, I' d like to suggest that international aviation regimes should be developed to promote and facilitate the globalized level for the people's movements among the global aviation society. That is the way to proceed to the welfare and peace for all human beings of the World.