• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.41-63
• /
• 2016

Energy policy is known to have higher path dependency among policy fields (Kuper and van Soest, 2003; OECD, 2012; Kikkawa, 2013) and is a critical component of the infrastructure development undertaken in the early stages of nation building. Actor roles, such as those played by interest groups, are firmly formed, making it unlikely that institutional change can be implemented. In resource-challenged Japan, energy policy is an especially critical policy area for the Japanese government. In comparing energy policy making in Japan and Germany, Japan’s policy community is relatively firm (Hartwig et al., 2015), and it is improbable that institutional change can occur. The Japanese government’s approach to energy policy has shifted incrementally in the past half century, with the most recent being the 2012 implementation of the “Feed-In Tariff Law” (Act on Special Measures Concerning Procurement of Renewable Electric Energy by Operators of Electric Utilities), which encourages new investment in renewable electricity generation and promotes the use of renewable energy. Yet, who were the actors involved and the factors that influenced the establishment of this new law? This study attempts to assess the factors associated with implementing the law as well as the roles of the relevant major actors. In answering this question, we focus on identifying the policy networks among government, political parties, and interest groups, which suggests that success in persuading key economic groups could be a factor in promoting the law. Our data is based on the “Global Environmental Policy Network Survey 2012-2013 (GEPON2)” which was conducted immediately after the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake with respondents including political parties, the government, interest groups, and civil society organizations. Our results suggest that the Feed in Tariff (FIT) Law’s network structure is similar to the information network and support network, and that the actors at the center of the network support the FIT Law. The strength of our research lays in our focus on political networks and their contributing mechanism to the law’s implementation through analysis of the political process. From an academic perspective, identifying the key actors and factors may be significant in explaining institutional change in policy areas with high path dependency. Close examination of this issue also has implications for a society that can promote renewable and sustainable energy resources.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.207-254
• /
• 2018

The major court rulings delivered in 2017 include the ruling that separated the legal character of denture production agreement signed together with medical care agreement and found a subcontracting dimension in the former, and the ruling that overcame the limitations of the theory of entire appearance of a fetus as discussed in civil law by using the legal principle of insurance which suggests that unborn child insurance takes effect after the contract is signed and the first installment of the premium is paid in. As more court rulings find the medical specialists responsible for accidents and injuries from drugs, some argue that medication counseling by the druggist who makes and dispenses drugs should be upgraded. And with respect to a court ruling that denied the hospital's responsibility for an infection-involving accident even if there were no records on specific measures taken in infection management, some criticized the court for being too conservative in recognizing responsibilities. And with respect to infectious disease management, some criticized the court for its interpretation and application of the facts in the direction of denying the negligence. In addition, some claimed that it is necessary to establish institutional system for hospital infection control and its aid for victims, and to improve the system including the reversal of the burden of proof given the special nature of hospital infections. A number of rulings on the duty to disclose included the one which stated that the specific matter did not require a doctor's explanation as it was explained or the specific medical service would have been performed even if no explanation had been given. There was a greatly controversial ruling over the scope of indemnification, which accepted the occurrence of multiple scars and deformation as disorders while regarding breast as a thoracic organ. And a Supreme Court ruling over interpreting Medical Service Act was criticized as overstepping the boundary allowed in the law.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.3-35
• /
• 2017

The Supreme Court of Korea first admitted compensation for damages caused by breach of informed consent in 1979. From then on, specific details of informed consent are shaping up and developing through court precedents. The duty of informed consent of doctor is based on article 10 of the Constitution and medical contract, and is expressly prescribed Article 12 of Framework Act on Health and Medical Services and other acts and regulations. By the way, the regulations about duty of informed consent of doctor have been established in Medical Law revised on December 20, 2016, and the revised Medical Law will be implemented on June 21, 2017. According to the revised Medical Law, medical practices subject to description and consent are operation, blood transfusion and general anesthesia that threaten to cause serious harm to human life or to the body. When performing these medical activities, the written consent must be explained and agreed upon in advance. If a doctor violates the law, he will incur fines of less than 3 million won. Comparing and viewing the revised Medical Law and existing legal principles about the duty of informed consent, we can confirm that there is a substantial difference between the two parties. Accordingly, despite the implementation of the revised medical law, the existing legal principles are unlikely to be affected. However, from the perspective of legal uniformity and stability, it is undesirable that legal judgments on the same issues differ from each other. The revised Medical Law about informed consent needs to be reformed according to existing legal principles. And, as in the case of Germany, it is desirable to include the matters concerning informed consent in the civil code.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2002.09a
• /
• pp.44-52
• /
• 2002

Low temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) has become one of the cornerstone technologies used for the treatment of contaminated soils and sediments in the United States. LTTD technology was first used in the mid-1980s for soil treatment on sites managed under the Comprehensive Environmental Respones, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Superfund. Implementation was facilitated by CERCLA regulations that require only that spplicable regulations shall be met thus avoiding the need for protracted and expensive permit applications for thermal treatment equipment. The initial equipment designs used typically came from technology transfer sources. Asphalt manufacturing plants were converted to direct-fired LTTD systems, and conventional calciners were adapted for use as indirect-fired LTTD systems. Other innovative designs included hot sand recycle technology (initially developed for synfuels production from tar sand and oil shale), recycle sweep gas, travelling belts and batch-charged vacuum chambers, among others. These systems were used to treat soil contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, performance and cost considerations established the suite of systems that are used for LTTD soil treatment applications today. This paper briefly reviews the develpoment of LTTD systems and summarizes the design, performance and cost characteristics of the equipment in use today. Designs reviewed include continuous feed direct-fired and indirect-fired equipment, batch feed systems and in-situ equipment. Performance is compared in terms of before-and-after contaminant levels in the soil and permissible emissions levels in the stack gas vented to the atmosphere. The review of air emissions standards includes a review of regulations in the U.S. and the European Union (EU). Key cost centers for the mobilization and operation of LTTD equipment are identified and compared for the different types of LTTD systems in use today. A work chart is provided for the selection of the optmum LTTD system for site-specific applications. LTTD technology continues to be a cornerstone technology for soil treatment in the U.S. and elsewhere. Examples of leading-edge LTTD technologies developed in the U.S. that are now being delivered locally in global projects are described.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.130-139
• /
• 2016

A frequency of earthquake occurrence in the Republic of Korea is increasing over the past few decades. In this situation, an importance of earthquake prevention comes to the fore because the earthquake does damage to structures and causes severe damage of human life. For the earthquake prevention, a real-time vibration measurement for structures is important. As an example, the United States of America and Japan have already been monitoring real-time earthquake acceleration for the important structures and the measured acceleration data has been managed by forming database. This database could be used for revising the seismic design specifications or predicting the damage caused by earthquake. In Korea, Earthquake Recovery Plans Act and Enforcement Regulations are revised and declared lately. Ministry of Public Safety and Security is constructing a integrated management system for the measured earthquake acceleration data. The purpose of this research is to develop a real-time vibration monitoring and analysis system for structures which links to the integrated management system. The developed system contains not only a monitoring function to show real-time acceleration data but also an analysis system to perform fast fourier transform, to obtain natural frequency and earthquake magnitude, to show response spectrum and power spectrum, and to evaluate structural health. Additionally, this system is designed to be able to link to the integrated management system of Ministry of Public Safety and Security. It is concluded that the developed system can be useful to build a safety management network, minimize maintenance cost of structures, and prevention of the structural damage due to earthquake.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
• /
• v.18
• /
• pp.27-62
• /
• 2002

The international sale contract is the central contracts in export-import transactions. A good sale contract or set of general conditions of sale will cover all the principal elements of the transaction, so that uncertainties are avoided. The parties' respective duties as concern the payment mechanism, transport contract and insurance responsibilities, inter alia, will all be clearly detailed in the contract. The following key clauses should be included in international contracts of sale and general conditions of sale: ${\bullet}$ preamble ${\bullet}$ identification of parties ${\bullet}$ description of goods ${\bullet}$ price and payment conditions ${\bullet}$ delivery periods and conditions ${\bullet}$ inspection of the goods - obligations and limitations ${\bullet}$ quantity or quality variations in the products delivered ${\bullet}$ reservation of title and passing of property rights ${\bullet}$ transfer of risk - how accomplished ${\bullet}$ seller's warranties and buyer's complaints ${\bullet}$ assignment of rights ${\bullet}$ force majeure clause and hardship clause ${\bullet}$ requirement that amendments and modifications be in writing ${\bullet}$ choice of law ${\bullet}$ choice of dispute resolution mechanism Under most systems of law, a party can be excused from a failure to perform a contract obligation which is caused by the intervention of a totally unforeseeable event, such as the outbreak of war, or an act of God such as an earthquake or hurricane. Under the American commercial code (UCC) the standard for this relief is one of commercial impracticability. In contrast, many civil law jurisdictions apply the term force majeure to this problem. Under CISG, the standard is based on the concept of impediments to performance. Because of the differences between these standards, parties might be well advised to draft their own force majeure, hardship, or excusable delays clause. The ICC publication, "Force Majeure and Hardship" provides a sample force majeure clause which can be incorporated by reference, as well as a hardship clause which must be expressly integrated in the contract. In addition, the ICC Model provides a similar, somewhat more concise formulation of a force majeure clause. When the seller wishes to devise his own excusable delays clause, he will seek to anticipate in its provision such potential difficulties as those related to obtaining government authorisations, changes in customs duties or regulations, drastic fluctuations in labour, materials, energy, or transportation prices, etc.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.265-270
• /
• 2012

The delay in the construction permit for the building, which obtained the approval of business proposal, may lead to a difference in the maintenance cost ranging between 20% and 30% in the neighborhood where the residents moved in, along with the new project under construction in the surrounding area amidst rigorous regulations that aim to promote energy-saving and the heightened interest of the public in energy conservation, and such problem would become the major source of serious public complaints. Thus, the energy-saving plan needs to be prepared when the approval is granted to the business plan. In order to prevent public complaints or ensure effectiveness of government's energy plan, it may be effective to apply the energy-saving plan based on current standards upon the award of construction permit when two years have elapsed since the date of the scheduled commencement of construction or when the start of construction is delayed as stipulated in the Article 18 of the Enforcement Decree of Housing Act. If the energy-saving plan and related technologies are merely the parts of license and permit process without fully serving their purposes and functions, it would be waste of time to deploy a lot of workforce and review and seek consultation. The government or owners of buildings need to fully understand the energy-saving aspects and exert effort to enhance the energy efficiency of buildings.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.33 no.12
• /
• pp.81-92
• /
• 2017

According to the revision of the Housing Act in 2013, it has been possible to carry out an apartment remodeling project involving two to three floor vertical extension. The remodeling project with vertical extension requires foundation reinforcement because structural safety due to additional load and enhanced seismic criteria must be met. In this case, structural analysis is performed to analyze the load distributed to existing PC pile and reinforced additional pile. The vertical stiffness ($K_v$) of the pile is required for structural analysis, but the research on the 20~30 year old PC pile stiffness is very limited. In this paper, the stiffness of the PC pile in accordance with the change of diameter and length was analyzed by examining the results of 38 field pile load tests performed during the construction of the apartments in the 1990's. As a result of the analysis, the pile stiffness decreases with the increase of the length-diameter ratio (L/D). In addition, the results of on-site pile load test are compared with the coefficient 'a' for estimating pile stiffness proposed in Korea Highway Bridge Design Standard (2008) and the Pile Foundation Design Guideline of Korea Railroad Corporation (2012). It shows that 'a' obtained through the estimation of the literature is very similar to the field test results in the range of 10

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.131-138
• /
• 2014

The steel structure fabrication plant certification program was enacted as a part of the construction technology management act, article 24-3, to improve the quality of steel construction after the decay falling accident of Seongsu Bridge in 1994. However, the national certification program for structural precast concrete that is a prefabricated construction products produced by casting concrete in plant is not implemented yet. So, to introduce the proper certification system for precast concrete, the quality certification programs of North America, Europe and Japan are surveyed. In North America, the organizations that manage the plant certification programs are PCI, NPCA, CPCI and so on. Sales of precast concrete elements in Europe are governed by the construction products regulation 305/2011. Therefore, CE marking is mandatory from July 2013 for all construction products including precast concrete. In Japan, precast concrete products used in civil engineering are certificated by JIS mark, product certification system and plants for manufacturing precast concrete building elements are audited by Japan Prefabricated Construction Suppliers and Manufacturers Association. Based on these survey studies, in this paper is described an adaptation of precast concrete plant certification to comport with the certification system in Korea.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.111-135
• /
• 2018

As the disputes in the investment and civil/commercial sectors of China and Taiwan have increased due to active cross-strait economic exchanges, the Chinese government is addressing cross-strait disputes through various dispute resolution methods. In recent years, the Arbitration Center Across the Straits (ACAS) has been established to resolve disputes between cross-strait parties, while ACAS Arbitration Rules have been enacted and enforced. ACAS Arbitration Rules are prepared by referring to the Arbitration Act of China and Taiwan, the relevant provisions and practices of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) Arbitration Rules and the cross-strait practical affairs of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, and the cross-strait practical affairs giving consideration to the specificity of the cross-strait relationship and the characteristics of economic and trade disputes. Therefore, this paper has compared the features and main contents of the ACAS Arbitration Rules with those of the CIETAC Arbitration Rules. This refers to arbitration proceedings such as form and effect of arbitration agreement, decision of place of arbitration, and organization of arbitral tribunal; the provision of consolidation of multiple contracts and arbitration, and the provision of joinder of arbitration parties, which are implementing the "principle of party autonomy" with streamlining arbitration proceedings and reducing costs; "common, simple, and small sum arbitration proceedings which require shorter arbitration proceedings depending on the size of the arbitration object; and regulations on the "interconnection of mediation and conciliation" which is characteristic of China's arbitration system. Based on the above-mentioned main contents of the ACAS Arbitration Rules in China, there are some implications to be considered in the establishment of the Arbitration Rules of the South-North Commercial Arbitration Commission which will be applied to solve commercial and investment disputes arising from the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation process, suggesting implications such as the need for the rapid composition and operation of the South-North Commercial Arbitration Commission, requirements for selecting arbitrators, expansion of the object of arbitration, specification of concreteness in deciding the place of arbitration, need to create a variety of arbitration proceedings, and application plan of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID) or Third Power Arbitration Agency.