• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.299-346
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• 2016

There were also various decisions made in medical area in 2015. In the case that an inmate in a sanatorium was injured due to the reason which can be attributable to the sanatorium and the social welfare foundation that operates the sanatorium request treatment of the patient, the court set the standard of fixation of a party in medical contract. In the case that the family of the patient who was declared brain dead required withdrawal of meaningless life sustaining treatment but the hospital rejected and continued the treatment, the court made a decision regarding chargeable fee for such treatment. When it comes to the eye brightening operation which received measure of suspension from the Ministry of Health and Welfare for the first time in February, 2011, because of uncertainty of its safety, the court did not accept the illegality of such operation itself, however, ordered compensation of the whole damage based on the violation of liability for explanation, which is the omission of explanation about the fact that the cost-effectiveness is not sure as it is still in clinical test stage. There were numerous cases that courts actively acknowledged malpractices; in the cases of paresis syndrome after back surgery, quite a few malpractices during the surgery were acknowledged by the court and in the case of nosocomial infection, hospital's negligence to cause such nosocomial infection was acknowledged by the court. There was a decision which acknowledged malpractice by distinguishing the duty of installation of emergency equipment according to the Emergency Medical Service Act and duty of emergency measure in emergency situations, and a decision which acknowledged negligence of a hospital if the hospital did not take appropriate measures, although it was a very rare disease. In connection with the scope of compensation for damage, there were decisions which comply with substantive truth such as; a court applied different labor ability loss rate as the labor ability loss rate decreased after result of reappraisal of physical ability in appeal compared to the one in the first trial, and a court acknowledged lower labor ability loss rate than the result of appraisal of physical ability considering the condition of a patient, etc. In the event of any damage caused by malpractice, in regard to whether there is a limitation on liability in fee charge after such medical malpractice, the court rejected the hospital's claim for setoff saying that if the hospital only continued treatments to cure the patient or prevent aggravation of disease, the hospital cannot charge Medical bills to the patient. In regard to the provision of the Medical Law that prohibit medical advertisement which was not reviewed preliminarily and punish the violation of such, a decision of unconstitutionality was made as it is a precensorship by an administrative agency as the deliberative bodies such as Korean Medical Association, etc. cannot be denied to be considered as administrative bodies. When it comes to the issue whether PRP treatment, which is commonly performed clinically, should be considered as legally determined uninsured treatment, the court made it clear that legally determined uninsured treatment should not be decided by theoretical possibility or actual implementation but should be acknowledged its medical safety and effectiveness and included in medical care or legally determined uninsured treatment. Moreover, court acknowledged the illegality of investigation method or process in the administrative litigation regarding evaluation of suitability of sanatorium, however, denied the compensation liability or restitution of unjust enrichment of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service and the National Health Insurance Corporation as the evaluation agents did not cause such violation intentionally or negligently. We hope there will be more decisions which are closer to substantive truth through clear legal principles in respect of variously arisen issues in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.5 no.4 s.16
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• pp.1-7
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• 2001

This paper presents a 'consequence analysis' for vapor cloud explosions caused by heavy gas leakages from commercially used storage tanks at petrochemical plants. Particularly, this paper emphasizes on evaluating the results of various vapor cloud explosion accidents from Butane storage tanks. Also this paper analyses the impact of variables on the accidents in order to acquire the optimum conditions for variables. $SuperChems^{TM}$ Professional Edition was applied to analyse the impact (If atmospheric and other variables in the situation where vapor cloud continuously disperses from the ground level. Under the assumption that practical operating conditions are selected as a standard condition, and Butane leaks from the storage tank for 15 minutes, the results show that the maximum distance of LFL (Lower Flammable Limit) was 52 meters and overpressure by the vapor cloud explosion was 1 psi at 128.2 meters. It is observed that the impact of the variables on accidental Butane storage tank leakage mainly varied upon atmospheric stability, wind velocity, pipe line size, visible length, etc., and changes in the simulation result occurred as the variables varied. The maximum distance of the LFL (Lower Flammable Limit) increased as the visible length became shorter, the size of the leak became larger, the wind velocity was decreased, and the climatic conditions became more stable. Thus, by analysing the variables that influence the simulation results of explosions of Butane storage tanks containing heavy gases, I am presenting the most appropriate method for 'consequence analysis' and the selection of standards for suitable values of variables, to obtain the most optimal conditions for the best results.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.42-53
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• 2012

Lawsuits related to defects in apartment buildings involve a range of legal issues, based on which the current subjective judgment system has been established. This study aims to organize the judgment system by stage of lawsuit from a legal perspective by reviewing the factors dealt with in precedent research. The main issues at hand include assignment of obligation, the day on which the computation of exclusion period begins and the day on which the defect repair is completed. The rationality of the current subjective judgment system could be determined by reviewing the recent cases. Based on the findings of the review, the following are suggestions for improvements and complements of the system. First, the process of assignment of obligation should be systemized, and the guarantee insurance system that provides a warranty deed should be improved as well. In addition, improvements and systemization should be made to clarify the responsibilities for any defect arising from the agreements that are not stipulated on the contract, computation of abatement rate of compensation and the system by which the responsibility for the defects is completed when residents acquire ownership from rental status.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.375-385
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• 2015

This study aims to identify geographical variations and factors that affect smoking rates. The data are collected from the Community Health Survey conducted between 2009 and 2011 by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government organizations. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the factors influencing smoking rates. For the purpose of investigating regional variations, we employed a decision tree model. The study has found that the significant factors associated with geographical variations in the smoking rates were the rate of hazardous drinking, the completion rate of hypertension education, the experience rate of anti-smoking campaigns, stress awareness rate, hypertension prevalence, health insurance cost, diabetes prevalence, obesity rate, and strength training rate. Convergence-based analysis on geographical variations of the smoking rates is highly important when the regionally customized healthcare programs is implemented. In the future, it is necessary to develop effective program and customized approach for the regions of high smoking rates. Our study is expected to be used as meaningful data for the design of effective health care programs and assessments to lead effective non-smoking program.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.241-250
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• 2012

Low birth rate is a persisting national challenge that causes a decrease in productive population and an increase in encumbrances by ever rising insurance premiums, eventually threatening the existence of the country. This study investigated the effectiveness of the current government's undergoing economic support of the child-birth promotion policy, "go-un-mam card", and suggested improvement plans about the problems derived on the basis of the perceptions of the card users. Multi-response analysis was used to find out the preference of the policy, and chi-square test was conducted to discover the user satisfaction rate and intent of re-parturition. Also, descriptive analysis was performed to identify the degree of the policy recognition. The results illustrated that a significant association exists between the satisfaction rate and the intention of re-parturition. In addition, pregnant women gained information about the policy from governmental agencies and medical institution as well as by word of mouth; then, applied to the policy. Also, the card users only took an advantage of discounts in the hospitals within the supported monetary amounts. Moreover, the card users expressed their dissatisfaction at the monetary amounts. For instance, the users were dissatisfied with the limit on the amount to be used in a day and requested upgrade on the monetary amounts. Based on the result, the government will improve and develop the go-un-mam card for the ultimate purpose of policy, increasing birth-rate.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.564-577
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• 2017

We investigated whether external environmental factors acted as a trigger for flowering in the draft bamboo (Sasa borealis (Hack.) Makino) blooming area of Mt. Baekwoon located in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. We then considered the cause for flowering, flowering patterns and life history strategies of the draft bamboo based on the investigation. There were no differences in soil, physical conditions, and light amount between the draft bamboo flowering and non-flowering areas. The precipitation and temperature of the areas in Korea and Japan where it blossomed from 2014 to 2017 were similar to the normal year values (for the past 30 years). Moreover, most of the draft bamboo died after flowering on a large scale, but some did not, or some culms were developed again. In other words, the draft bamboo bloomed simultaneously regardless of external environmental factors, and most of the culms were dead, but some were left alive. Therefore, it is considered that the flowering is triggered by the specific genes (referred as to clock genes) expressed periodically by a biological clock rather than the external environmental factors. Meanwhile, the draft bamboos generally bloom on a large scale by synchronizing with other ones in the distance but may also bloom several times separately on a small scale. It may be a kind of an insurance system established to disperse the risk of failed sexual propagation when flowering once in a lifetime. The results reveal that the long-period monocarpy of the draft bamboo has been strengthened to optimize the sexual propagation to overcome the increased environmental instability caused by the expansion of distribution of tropical bamboos and bamboo species to the temperate regions.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.137-150
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• 2005

Although the rate of women farmer's participation in agricultural activities have been increased upto 52.7 % as of year 2003, Korean society has not fully recognized their roles in rural society. According to the agricultural basic law, most of rural women were engaged in agriculture as full time job, however, only about 11% of them could have supporting evidence of themselves as farmer having legal right. If women farmers faced some unexpected things such as a traffic accident, insurance company would not reward them as farmers unless they provide written proof of their job as farm worker or farm owner. Based on lawyer's legal advice, the authors developed a diary called "Saenghwalilji", a daily diary based on their time use and bookkeeping to prove the fact of their contribution to income generation of the farm. After examination of the diary, 18 persons out of 29 volunteers kept two types of dairy for the period of two weeks, and they reported it was very useful. Finally the better one of two was selected after reflecting the suggestions from the respondents. The "Saenghwalilji", will be very useful proof of women farmer's contribution to income, at the same time improving their farm management through better use of daily life time.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.158-163
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• 2020

This study examines and presents reasonable improvement measures for the operation and revision of the relative value scoring system, and the basis for performance of a medical technologist. Seven hospitals were enrolled in the study, and included 5 resident laboratory medicine specialists and 53 medical technologists, giving a ratio of 10.6 technologists per laboratory medicine specialist. The average of professional manpower scores was 18, and the average of each medical institution's total score was 78. Ratings and additional rates were in the range 2~3%, and quality-added ratios were 2~3%, with no significance. Excluding pathological testing and assessing physiological functions, the average number of diagnostic tests for health insurance claims were 9,618,062, including 4,378,146 points for 5% of the total relative value scores. According to the DEA, the appropriate number of medical technologist is one person per 49,974 points of relative value. In conclusion, our study results indicate that it would be desirable to set the appropriate workforce for medical technologist to one person per 50,000 points of relative value. Our data could be used as a basis for enhancing productivity of the workforce and balancing health care resources.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.329-348
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• 2010

Following the welfare state typology well known, the typology in terms of individual system in welfare state has been widely examined and, pension which is the biggest and most important in welfare state has been classified into Beveridge and Bismarckian types based on their pension system design. Such typology focused on benefit type or size of private pension has been recently refined to add a new type - 'Bismarckian Lite' type - in addition to traditional Beveridge and Bismarckian types. Whereas the pension reforms in the developed countries has been changes within their pension regimes, the Korean pension reform in 2007 seems to have changed the existing social insurance type into the 'Bismarckian Lite' type. However, considering the immaturity of Korean pension regime, it is difficult to conclude the existing status of the Korean pension regime and, the Korean one can be classified into a multi-pillar one. Over the last decades the developed countries have increased the size of private pension regardless of their original pension regimes, which tends to converge into multi-pillar schemes. Accordingly, there is recently a new typology focused on the degree of regulation in terms of private pensions, which seems to be the better perspective. It will be more important how to regulate the (immature) occupational pension as well as the National Pension in Korea. Considering that old age income security in countries where the public regulation regarding private pension was absent has been deteriorated, it would be necessary to strengthen the role of government to effectively regulate private pension.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1027-1041
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• 2017

Hyperlipidemia, the status of blood with high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), is known as a main cause of coronary artery diseases such as myocardiac infarction or brain infarct. Statin is the representative prescription to hyperlipidemia and the effects of it depend on the patient's individual conditions such as health-caring habits or adherence to medication. The main effect of statin is reducing LDL-C, which should reach the target range based on National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) guideline. In this research, the reduction of LDL-C and attainment to patient's target range are considered effects of statin. The association between factors - individual conditions and adherence to medication of patients - and the effects of statin is analyzed with National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC).