• Title/Summary/Keyword: Foreign Trade Law

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A study on the improvement of distribution system by overseas agricultural investment (해외농업투자에 따른 유통체계 개선방안에 관한 연구)

  • Sun, Il-Suck;Lee, Dong-Ok
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.8 no.3
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    • pp.17-26
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    • 2010
  • Recently concerns have been raised due to the unbalanced supply of crops: the price of crops has been unstable and at one point the price went up so high that the word Agflation(agriculture+ inflation) was coined. Korea, in particular, is a small-sized country and needs to secure the stable supply of crops by investing in the produce importation at a national level. Investment in foreign produce importation is becoming more important as a measure for sufficient supply of crops, limited supply of domestic crops, weakened farming conditions worldwide, as well as recent changes in the use of crops due to the development of bio-fuels, influence of carbon emission on crops, the price increase in crops, and influx of foreign hot money. However, there are many problems with investing in foreign produce importation: lack of support from the government; lack of farming information and technology; difficulty in securing the capital; no immediate pay-off from the investment and insufficient management. Although foreign produce is originally more price-competitive than domestic produce, it loses its competiveness in the process of importation (due to high tariffs) and poor distribution system, which makes it difficult to sell in Korea. Therefore, investment in foreign produce importation is being questioned for feasibility; to make it possible, foreign produce must maintain the price-competitiveness. Especially, harvest of agricultural products depends on natural and geographical conditions of each country and those products have indigenous properties, so distribution system according to import and export of agricultural products should be treated more carefully than that of other industries. Distribution costs are differentiated into each item and include cost of sorting and wrapping, cost of wrapping materials, cost of domestic transport, cost of international transport and cost of clearing customs for import and export. So transporting and storing agricultural products generates considerable costs compared with other products. Also, due to upgrade of dietary life, needs for stability, taste and visible quality toward food including agricultural products are being raised and wrong way of storage causes decomposition of food and loss of freshness, making the storage more difficult than that in room temperature, so storage and transport in distribution of agricultural products needs specialty. In addition, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. However, existing distribution system of agricultural products is exposed to various problems including problems in distribution channel, making distribution and strategy for distribution and those problems are as follows. First, in case of investment in overseas agricultural industry, stable supply of the products is difficult because areas of production are dispersed widely and influenced by outer factors due to including overseas distribution channels. Also, at the aspect of quality, standardization of products is difficult, distribution system is quite complicated and unreasonable due to long distribution channels according to international trade and financial and institutional support is not enough. Especially, there are quite a lot of ineffective factors including multi level distribution process, dramatic gap between production cost and customer's cost, lack of physical distribution facilities and difficulties in storage and transport due to lack of wrapping containers. Besides, because import and export of agricultural products has been manages under the company's own distribution according to transaction contract between manufacturers and exporting company, efficiency is low due to excessive investment in fixed costs and lack of specialty in dealing with agricultural products causes fall of value of products, showing the limit to lose price-competitiveness. Especially, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. Second, among tangible and intangible services which promote the efficiency of the whole distribution, a function building distribution environment which includes distribution information, system for standard and inspection, distribution finance, system for diversification of risks, education and training, distribution administration and tax system is wanted. In general, such a function building distribution environment is difficult to be changed and supplement innovatively because its effect compared with investment does not appear immediately despite of its necessity. Especially, in case of distribution of agricultural products, as a function of collecting and distributing is performed individually through various channels, the importance of distribution information and standardization is getting more focus due to the problem of repetition of work and lack of specialty. Also, efficient management of distribution is quite difficult due to lack of professionals in distribution, so support to professional education is needed. Third, though effort to keep self-sufficiency ratio of staple food, rice is regarded as important at the government level, level of dependency on overseas of others crops is high. Therefore, plan for stable securing food resources aside from staple food is also necessary. Especially, governmental organizations of agricultural products distribution in Korea are production-centered and have unreasonable structure whose function at the aspect of distribution and consumption is quite insufficient. And development of new distribution channels which can deal with changes in distribution environment and they do not achieve actual results of strategy for distribution due to non-positive strategy for price distribution. That is, it implies the possibility that base for supply will become vulnerable because it does not mediate appropriate interests on total distribution channels such as manufacturers, wholesale dealers and vendors by emphasizing consumer protection excessively in the distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, this study examined fundamental concept and actual situation for our investment to overseas agriculture, drew necessities, considerations, problems, etc. of overseas agricultural investment and suggested improvements at the level of distribution for price competitiveness of agricultural products cultivated in overseas under five aspects; government's indirect support, distribution's modernization and distribution information function's strengthening, government's political support for distribution facility, transportation route, load and unloading works' improvement, price competitiveness' securing, professional manpower's cultivation by education and training, etc. Here are some suggestions for foreign produce importation. First, the government should conduct a survey on the current distribution channels and analyze the situation to establish a measure for long-term development plans. By providing each agricultural area with a guideline for planning appropriate production of crops, the government can help farmers be ready for importation, and prevent them from producing same crops all at the same time. Government can sign an MOU with the foreign government and promote the importation so that the development of agricultural resources can be stable and steady. Second, the government can establish a strategy for an effective distribution system by providing farmers and agriculture-related workers with the distribution information such as price, production, demand, market structure and location, feature of each crop, and etc. In order for such distribution system to become feasible, the government needs to reconstruct the current distribution system, designate a public organization for providing distribution information and set the criteria for level of produce quality, trade units, and package units. Third, the government should provide financial support and a policy to seek an efficient distribution channel for foreign produce to be delivered fresh: the government should expand distribution facilities (for selecting, packaging, storing, and processing) and transportation vehicles while modernizing old facilities. There should be another policy to improve the efficiency of unloading, and to lower the cost of distribution. Fourth, it is necessary to enact a new law covering exceptional cases for importing produce in order to maintain the price competitiveness; currently the high tariffs is keeping the imported produce from being distributed domestically. However, the new adjustment should be made carefully within the WTO regulations since it can create a problem from giving preferential tariffs. The government can also simplify the distribution channels in order to reduce the cost in the distribution process. Fifth, the government should educate distributors to raise the efficiency and to modernize the distribution system. It is necessary to develop human resources by educating people regarding the foreign agricultural environment, the produce quality, management skills, and by introducing some successful cases in advanced countries.

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A Legal Review on Abuse Cases of Virtual Currency and Legal Responses (가상화폐의 악용사례와 법적 대응방안에 관한 고찰)

  • Hwang, Suk-Jin
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.585-594
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    • 2018
  • Virtual currencies have emerged along with new technologies such as block chain, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data. This study examines the benefits of a security-enhanced block chain resulting from individual trading, decentralized from governments, as well as the problems associated with misuse of virtual currencies. Virtual currencies, due to its anonymity, is vulnerable to financial crimes, such as ransom-ware, fraud, drug trafficking, tax evasion and money laundering. Use of virtual currencies can facilitate criminals avoid detection from investigative agencies. Government regulatory policy continues to address these concerns, and the virtual currency exchange has also announced a self-regulation proposal. However, a fundamental solution remains necessary. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the problems regarding abuse of virtual currency and to identify a practical system for transactions involving virtual currencies. However, in order to promote transactions involving virtual currencies and to institutionalize a governance system, multilateral cooperation is required. Although the restricting the use of virtual currencies regarding minors and foreign trade, as well as the introduction of a real-name system are considered promising prospects, many problems remain. Virtual currency is not a simple digital item but a method of redesigning the function of money. Coordinated efforts are needed globally to be able to further activate the positive aspects concerning the use of virtual currencies.

South Korea's Response to the Formation of the International Regime on Access and Benefit Sharing within the Convention on Biological Diversity (생물다양성협약상 ABS 국제레짐형성 논의와 우리의 대응)

  • Chung, Suh-Yong;Park, Young-Gyu
    • Journal of Environmental Policy
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    • v.8 no.4
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    • pp.1-24
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    • 2009
  • As commercial use of genetic resources increases in modern society, calls for fair and equitable sharing of the benefits thereof have become increasingly prominent, particularly from developing countries. As a result, negotiations have been ongoing for the "International Regime on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)" for genetic resources as a successor to the non-binding Bonn Guideline. 2010 has been set as the target date for the Agreement. As South Korea is more likely to be a user country of genetic resources, it will be necessary for it to take part in the negotiating process and contribute to creating the International Regime on ABS, to ensure both appropriate access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising there from. To develop appropriate response strategies for South Korea, it is critical not only to closely examine the negotiations within the framework of the CBD but also to engage in discussions within thescope of related international organizations and domestic legislation. To achieve this goal, it is imperative for South Korea to form a comprehensive Government Response System, composed of relevant governmental bodies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Ministry of Environment, etc.

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A Study on the Feasibility of the Espionage Charges for the Industrial Technology Divulgence (산업기술의 해외유출행위에 대한 간첩죄 처벌 타당성 연구)

  • Kim, Hang-Gon;Lee, Chang-Moo
    • Korean Security Journal
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    • no.57
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    • pp.253-275
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    • 2018
  • Economic security emerged as a strong element of national security. Nations around the world are exerting their efforts to collect economic intelligence to serve their national interest while making added efforts to uncover industrial espionage and arrest industrial spies in defensive aspect. Cases in point are the enactment of "Economic Espionage Act(1996)" of the U.S. and the "Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology(2006)"of Korea. Korea is trying to punish industrial spying on the same level as espionage that poses national security threat by revising Criminal Code. It is necessary to review whether the move to toughen the punishment of industrial spying from "up to 15 years in prison and/or up to 1.5 billion won in fine" to "minimum seven years of imprisonment, life imprisonment or death penalty" is appropriate. Advanced nations regulate industrial spying with a special act on economy although they have applied espionage act not to "enemy states" but to "foreign countries" in the first place. Likewise, preventing industrial spying by applying espionage act through the revision of criminal code poses a risk of undermining the autonomy of industry sector by excessive influence of state power. Furthermore, the penalty of minimum imprisonment of seven years, life imprisonment or death penalty with the application of espionage act under the criminal code is an legal application by stretching of the law, posing a risk of dampening healthy economic activities. Therefore, revising and applying relevant economic laws such as aforementioned 'Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology(2006)' is thought to be desirable to achieve the goal of protecting industrial technologies.

A Comparative Study on the Productivity by Characteristics of Tenant Companies in Busan New Port Distripark (부산항 신항 배후단지 입주업체 특성별 생산성 비교연구)

  • Kim, Yang-Wook;Cha, Jae-Ung;Kim, Yul-Seong
    • Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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    • v.44 no.6
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    • pp.509-516
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    • 2020
  • Korea has gradually been developing port distriparks in major domestic trade ports to diversify their function and create added-value. New tenant companies are needed to help achieve these goals, but no research has been done on selection criteria. To provide such criteria, this study conducted a comparative analysis of the productivity of tenant companies in Busan New Port Distripark based on their characteristics. SFP (single-factor productivity) was measured using the operational data of 67 companies in the distripark over the past - three years (2017-2019). The results indicate that the logistics business and the manufacturing business have strengths in cargo volume productivity and in sales productivity respectively. Also, Northern distripark, a relatively older facility, was found to be more productive than Ung-dong distripark. Finally, the effect of investment-both foreign and in FAC/EQ (facility and equipment)-on productivity showed an inverse relationship with productivity, with the companies with under-average investments being more productive than those whose investments were above average. Therefore, to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of port distriparks, tenant companies must be subject to supplemented system and law for increasing employment and cargo volume, and reestablished selection criteria.

An Examination into the Illegal Trade of Cultural Properties (문화재(文化財)의 국제적 불법 거래(不法 去來)에 관한 고찰)

  • Cho, Boo-Keun
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.37
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    • pp.371-405
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    • 2004
  • International circulation of cultural assets involves numerous countries thereby making an approach based on international law essential to resolving this problem. Since the end of the $2^{nd}$ World War, as the value of cultural assets evolved from material value to moral and ethical values, with emphasis on establishing national identities, newly independent nations and former colonial states took issue with ownership of cultural assets which led to the need for international cooperation and statutory provisions for the return of cultural assets. UNESCO's 1954 "Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" as preparatory measures for the protection of cultural assets, the 1970 "Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property" to regulate transfer of cultural assets, and the 1995 "Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects" which required the return of illegally acquired cultural property are examples of international agreements established on illegal transfers of cultural assets. In addition, the UN agency UNESCO established the Division of Cultural Heritage to oversee cultural assets related matters, and the UN since its 1973 resolution 3187, has continued to demonstrate interest in protection of cultural assets. The resolution 3187 affirms the return of cultural assets to the country of origin, advises on preventing illegal transfers of works of art and cultural assets, advises cataloguing cultural assets within the respective countries and, conclusively, recommends becoming a member of UNESCO, composing a forum for international cooperation. Differences in defining cultural assets pose a limitation on international agreements. While the 1954 Convention states that cultural assets are not limited to movable property and includes immovable property, the 1970 Convention's objective of 'Prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property' effectively limits the subject to tangible movable cultural property. The 1995 Convention also has tangible movable cultural property as its subject. On this point, the two conventions demonstrate distinction from the 1954 Convention and the 1972 Convention that focuses on immovable cultural property and natural property. The disparity in defining cultural property is due to the object and purpose of the convention and does not reflect an inherent divergence. In the case of Korea, beginning with the 1866 French invasion, 36 years of Japanese colonial rule, military rule and period of economic development caused outflow of numerous cultural assets to foreign countries. Of course, it is neither possible nor necessary to have all of these cultural properties returned, but among those that have significant value in establishing cultural and historical identity or those that have been taken symbolically as a demonstration of occupational rule can cause issues in their return. In these cases, the 1954 Convention and the ratification of the first legislation must be actively considered. In the return of cultural property, if the illicit acquisition is the core issue, it is a simple matter of following the international accords, while if it rises to the level of diplomatic discussions, it will become a political issue. In that case, the country requesting the return must convince the counterpart country. Realizing a response to the earnest need for preventing illicit trading of cultural assets will require extensive national and civic societal efforts in the East Asian area to overcome its current deficiencies. The most effective way to prevent illicit trading of cultural property is rapid circulation of information between Interpol member countries, which will require development of an internet based communication system as well as more effective deployment of legislation to prevent trading of illicitly acquired cultural property, subscription to international conventions and cataloguing collections.

A Study on the Legal Explanation and Cases of Remedies for Breach of Contract by the Buyer under CISG (CISG하에서 매수인의 계약위반에 대한 매도인의 구제수단에 관한 고찰 - CISG 제3편 제3장 제3절(제61조 내지 제65조)의 규정해석과 판결례를 중심으로 -)

  • Shim, Chong-Seok
    • International Commerce and Information Review
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.231-251
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    • 2012
  • The remedies available to a seller that has suffered a breach of contract by the buyer are addressed in Section III of Chapter III of Part III. The first provision in the section, 61, catalogues those remedies and authorizes an aggrieved seller to resort to them. The remaining provisions of the section address particular remedies or prerequisites to remedies. The subject matter of the current section remedies for breach of contract by the buyer obviously parallels that of Section III of Chapter II of Part III remedies for breach of contract by the seller. Many individual provisions within these sections form matched pairs. Thus 61, which catalogs the seller's remedies, which catalogs the buyer's remedies. Other provisions in the current section that have analogues in the section on buyer's remedies include 62, seller's right to require buyer's performance 63, seller's right to fix an additional period for buyer to perform and 64, seller right to avoid the contract. As was the case with the provisions on buyers' remedies, the articles governing sellers' remedies operate in conjunction with a variety of provisions outside the current section. Thus the seller's right to require performance by the buyer is subject to the rule in 28 relieving a court from the obligation to order specific performance in circumstances in which it would not do so under its own law. The authorization in 61 for a seller to claim damages for a buyer's breach operates in connection with 74-76, which specify how damages are to be measured. 49, stating when an aggrieved seller can avoid the contract, is part of a network of provisions that address avoidance, including the definition of fundamental breach, the requirement of notice of avoidance, provisions governing avoidance in certain special circumstances, measures of damages available only if the contract has been avoided and the provisions of Section V of Part III, Chapter V on effects of avoidance.

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The Changing Aspects of North Korea's Terror Crimes and Countermeasures : Focused on Power Conflict of High Ranking Officials after Kim Jong-IL Era (북한 테러범죄의 변화양상에 따른 대응방안 -김정일 정권 이후 고위층 권력 갈등을 중심으로)

  • Byoun, Chan-Ho;Kim, Eun-Jung
    • Korean Security Journal
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    • no.39
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    • pp.185-215
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    • 2014
  • Since North Korea has used terror crime as a means of unification under communism against South Korea, South Korea has been much damaged until now. And the occurrence possibility of terror crime by North Korean authority is now higher than any other time. The North Korean terror crimes of Kim Il Sung era had been committed by the dictator's instruction with the object of securing governing fund. However, looking at the terror crimes committed for decades during Kim Jung Il authority, it is revealed that these terror crimes are expressed as a criminal behavior because of the conflict to accomplish the power and economic advantage non powerful groups target. This study focused on the power conflict in various causes of terror crimes by applying George B. Vold(1958)'s theory which explained power conflict between groups became a factor of crime, and found the aspect by ages of terror crime behavior by North Korean authority and responding plan to future North Korean terror crime. North Korean authority high-ranking officials were the Labor Party focusing on Juche Idea for decades in Kim Il Sung time. Afterwards, high-ranking officials were formed focusing on military authorities following Military First Policy at the beginning of Kim Jung Il authority, rapid power change has been done for recent 10 years. To arrange the aspect by times of terror crime following this power change, alienated party executives following the support of positive military first authority by Kim Jung Il after 1995 could not object to forcible terror crime behavior of military authority, and 1st, 2nd Yeongpyeong maritime war which happened this time was propelled by military first authority to show the power of military authority. After 2006, conservative party union enforced censorship and inspection on the trade business and foreign currency-earning of military authority while executing drastic purge. The shooting on Keumkangsan tourists that happened this time was a forcible terror crime by military authority following the pressure of conservative party. After October, 2008, first military reign union executed the launch of Gwanmyungsung No.2 long-range missile, second nuclear test, Daechung marine war, and Cheonanham attacking terror in order to highlight the importance and role of military authority. After September 2010, new reign union went through severe competition between new military authority and new mainstream and new military authority at this time executed highly professionalized terror crime such as cyber/electronic terror unlike past military authority. After July 2012, ICBM test launch, third nuclear test, cyber terror on Cheongwadae homepage of new mainstream association was the intention of Km Jung Eun to display his ability and check and adjust the power of party/military/cabinet/ public security organ, and he can attempt the unexpected terror crime in the future. North Korean terror crime has continued since 1980s when Kim Jung Il's power succession was carried out, and the power aspect by times has rapidly changed since 1994 when Kim Il Sung died and the terror crime became intense following the power combat between high-ranking officials and power conflict for right robbery. Now South Korea should install the specialized department which synthesizes and analyzes the information on North Korean high-ranking officials and reinforce the comprehensive information-collecting system through the protection and management of North Korean defectors and secret agents in order to determine the cause of North Korean terror crime and respond to it. And South Korea should participate positively in the international collaboration related to North Korean terror and make direct efforts to attract the international agreement to build the international cooperation for the response to North Korean terror crime. Also, we should try more to arrange the realistic countermeasure against North Korean cyber/electronic terror which was more diversified with the expertise terror escaping from existing forcible terror through enactment/revision of law related to cyber terror crime, organizing relevant institute and budget, training professional manpower, and technical development.

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