• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.3D
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• pp.295-302
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• 2010

Since the late 1990s, the BOT mode in China has been extensively used in the water sector in order to attract private investment, improve technical and operational efficiency, and expand the coverage of water services. The BOT mode has been hailed as this provides a win-win structure between the government and private players through formalized procedures and an optimal risk allocation. However, recent market analyses show that some foreign investors are reluctant to participate in the market or even retreat due to uncertainties and risks in the market. This study aims to explore various risks in the Chinese water BOT market based on the thorough literature review, fieldwork, and the case studies on the two wholly foreign-owned BOT water projects: the Chengdu No. 6 and the Shanghai Dachang Water Supply BOT projects. The research results indicate that the Chinese BOT market embraces high risks in political, institutional and legal, and financial systems. The key to a successful takeoff of the BOT mode in the Chinese water market depends on the extent to which the government will be able to remove risky factors in political, institutional and legal, and financing systems. This research outcome will provide a useful reference to the Korean construction companies which consider expanding business to overseas water markets in the form of public private partnership.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.23
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• pp.341-372
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• 2004

Since China was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 11, 2001, China has sped up its active participation in the competition of the world economy by lifting its trade and investment restrictions and limits. Its trading system is getting more and more free and its huge market with a population of 1.3 billion has been getting more and more open. With Chinas WTO accession, China has been honoring its commitments to its WTO members by complying with international business practices and WTO rules. For example, it will cut down its import tariffs for automobiles from the present 80% to 25% by 2006. Its financial sector and service industries are open to foreign investors now. As Chinas biggest business partner, Japan has benefited tremendously from Chinas open policies and deepening economic reform. In order to reduce the costs of production, a large number of enterprises from Japan have set up production bases in China since a Chinese workers wages accounts for only one tenth of those of a Japanese worker on the average. Japan has become one of Chinas biggest investors on a par with the United States of America (USA). How are the Japanese enterprises in Japan and in China adjusting themselves to the rapid changes of the Chinese market? What characteristics do the Japanese enterprises in China have? What effects has Chinas WTO accession had on those Japanese enterprises that have invested in China? This paper finds answers to the above questions. It at first reviews the Sino-Japanese economic and trade relations since 1980s, then analyses the situation and characteristics of Japanese-invested enterprises in China, and explores their problems in China. Finally it puts forward some suggestions for the Japanese enterprises in China.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.185-207
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• 2012

Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Many Korean companies have recently invested their factories to Vietnam from China. This Study measures the entry determinants and outcomes of Vietnam foreign direct investment of the Korea company. This study developed a research model to determinant factor in the Vietnam market entry and collected 98 survey responses from the Korean company to Vietnam investment. In the article analysis, Multiple regression results show that Vietnam investment outcome review are positively affected by "Scale of Investment company", "International Experience of Investment company", "Marketing Skill of Investment company" and "Vietnam's Market Scale", "Vietnam's Market Environment" factors in all a hypothesis. However, the result of this analysis showed that the "Financial management of investment company", and "Organization management of investment company" as independence is not statistically significant. This article suggests that the investment outcome of Vietnam foreign direct investment should take earned of the Korea company in Vietnam market.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.958-969
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• 2002

No one doubts that textile and apparel industries have contributed to economic miracles of the export-led growth in Korea. However, by the turning of 1990′s, these sectors have encountered many problems such as decreasing of domestic production and exports mainly due to wage rise and shortage. Therefore, foreign direct investment to the low labor cost countries has been enlarged for a way of improving its competitiveness and increasing exports. However, no intensive study has been made exploring current investments and future directions. This study focuses Vietnam as one of the promising overseas investment countries. The purposes of this study are to analyze current investment status of Korean textiles and apparel firms in Vietnam, to explore merits and problems Vietnam has, and to present useful implications and strategies for Korean textiles and apparel companies. Analysis of current secondary data suggests that Korean apparel industry, rather than textiles industry, have invested more in Vietnam, mostly in southern Ho Chi Minh City. Investments of Korean apparel and textile firms have shown steady increase from 1990 but have turned to a decrease from 1995. Findings suggested that Vietnam has merits for attracting foreign investment since it provides relatively cheap labor and outstanding skillful hands suitable for apparel and textiles industries. In addition, because of EU quota increase and the trade agreement between Vietnam and USA it is likely for firms in Vietnam to increase exports to EU and USA Rapid expansion of domestic apparel market and "Korean trend (Han Rue)" in Vietnam resulted from successful star marketing of Korean firms are another merits Vietnam has to the Korean fm. However, regulations of central government, low efficiency of bureaucratic and stiff administrative process, difficulty of making decision in case of joint venture, lack of social overhead capital, high factory construction costs, weak construction condition, and the excessive competition among investment enterprises have found to be problems. Based on pros and cons of investment to Vietnam, marketing strategies, practical implications and future directions were suggested.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.27-35
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• 2016

Purpose - The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of employee characteristics on employees' preference towards corporate pension products. This study can provide a guidance for maximization of benefits for employees and their affiliated corporation. Employee characteristics include average length of labour, wage system of annual salary, age, types of interest rates and size of corporation. Existing research generally concentrate on vitalizations of corporate pension product raising an imperfection, improvements, tax benefit analysis and legal consideration. Thus, this study intensively analyses the effect of employee attributes on firms' decision for corporate pension products, such as DB(defined benefit) and DC(defined contribution) type. Research design, data, and methodology - The data were collected using self-administrated questionnaire survey on corporate pension products from CEOs or HR directors 250 foreign-invested companies', purchasing pension plans in practice with domestic financial trustees (insurance companies, banks and security companies). Hypotheses testing was conducted using Logistic Regression analysis with SPSS/PC+ 21.0. Results - The findings of the study are as follows. Employees with the long length of labour are more likely to have DB plan; more likely to prefer DC plan with the dividend distribution product regarding the types of interest rate. SMEs(less than 100 employees) are more likely to select DC plan whereas high fluctuation in wage with annual salary has no impacts. In addition, the ages has no significant effect on the preference. Conclusions - This study has examined with the empirical testing that employees' variable attributes and qualities are one of the vital factors for corporation pension plan selection. Currently, majority employees are highly likely to join DB plan and Defined interest types. Corporation with less than 10 employees prefer IRP scheme while most of corporation are intended to join DC plan. In a very near future, corporation more than 300 employees will be required to purchase mandatory plan under national regulation. For maximization of employees' contentment to corporation pension insurance and for complementing the flaws of existing plans, the future studies shall also research in a perspective of employee benefit.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.113-130
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• 2017

This study examines the effect of direct investment in Asia on firm value for nonfinancial firms listed on KRX between 2006 and 2015. We also explore whether the mediating effects of cashholdings the relationship between direct investment in Asian markets and corporate value. Recently, companies are increasing their cash holdings for risk management. Cashholdings are causing agent problems, which has a negative impact on corporate value. In this case, when the company conducts active investment activities such as foreign direct investment, it is possible to supply the appropriate funds in a timely manner, thereby cashholdings increase the possibility of success of foreign direct investment and alleviate the agent problem of cash holdings. For the analysis, the number of directly invested firms in Korean listed firms is used as the explanatory variables for the Chinese and Vietnamese markets where foreign direct investment is the most active, and cash holding is set as the moderating variable. As a result, direct investment in China and Vietnam showed a positive (+) relationship with firm value, and cashholdings have a positive the relationship between foreign direct investment and firma value. The implications of this paper are as follows. First, it is suggested that the direct value of direct investment can be enhanced the relationship between direct investment and firm value in Asia. In addition, it can be suggested that cash holdings play a role of effective investment supply in firms that implement foreign direct investment, positively affecting corporate value.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.91-105
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• 2014

The objective of this study is to analyze the project performance and development process of the phase 1 project of GFEZ from 2004 to 2010. The phase 1 project from 2004 to 2010 is consist of eleven project zones. Among these zones, eight zones are currently underway and three zones have been completed. The performance of the phase 1 projects is no so much because it were stated later than planning with the difficulty of business developers selection. The major performances are development and supply of industrial & residential land, construction of road and railway, investment promotion of 102 companies, and creation of 20,971 new jobs. Most of the direct invested companies were located at Gwangyang and Yulchon Districts, and were mainly logistics and related service, iron and steel, machinery, shipbuilding, and fine chemicals. The main problems, however, are the limit of promotion of high-tech industries and large firms, low FDI reported rate, difficulty of superior business developers, delayed business progress of Hadong district. Therefore, efforts to solve these problems are required for the success of GFEZ.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.438-453
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• 2009

Attracting advanced foreign enterprises into the less-developed regions has gained increasing importance as a regional development strategy in Korea. This study critically examines the foreign-direct investment-led regional development strategy of Wales, United Kingdom. Despite a high FDI inflow in manufacturing, the Welsh regional economy has suffered from specialization in low-skilled assembly with limited R&D activities, insufficient linkage with local domestic suppliers, and violent fluctuation in local employment in response to changes within the global business environment. This tendency shows that the foreign-invested companies have neither locally embedded themselves enough nor created the external agglomeration economies in the region. At the same time, the Welsh local government's excessive dependence on financial incentives packages to induce multinationals, rather than effort to create regional innovative capacity, has resulted in a sizable fiscal loss, an abused local planning process, and subordination of the local government's major administrative decision-making on foreign investors. The Welsh FDI case suggests that an effective FDI attraction policy should include inter-regional cooperation and coordination in the inward investment attraction procedure, a comprehensive land use planning process, and state-level concrete governance on FDI.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.145-175
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• 2011

This paper suggests the strategy for attracting FDI in Gwangju and Jeonnam region using the secondary data collected by homepage of Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Gwangju City, and Jeollanam-do. The strategy for attracting FDI in Gwangju and Jeonnam region is as follows: First, the local governments of Gwangju and Jeonnam must progressively attract FDI by adjusting to the Korean government's regional industry policy direction. Second, in order to attract FDI consistently, the local governments of Gwangju and Jeonnam must enhance the ability of local officials to attract FDI. Third, in order to attract FDI effectively, the local governments of Gwangju and Jeonnam must build a complete system to support FDI. Fourth, in order to attract FDI effectively, the local governments of Gwangju and Jeonnam have to apply different investment incentives according to FDI effectiveness. Fifth, the local governments of Gwangju and Jeonnam must consistently support foreign companies in order to induce FDI expansion by foreign companies which have already invested in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions. Finally, in order to attract FDI consistently, the local governments of Gwangju and Jeonnam must improve the negative images and living environments of the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.189-206
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• 2020

Purpose - This paper attempted to verify the process by which a multinational corporation (MNC)'s subsidiary practices entrepreneurship to create effective knowledge (KC) in the local market. We have looked at whether subsidiary entrepreneurship (SENT) has a moderation effect in creating knowledge for the local market when a subsidiary has been given autonomy (AUT) from the headquarters (HQ). We also argue that when a subsidiary creates meaningful knowledge, the effect of the increased status by the HQ within the MNC network position (NP) has an indirect effect on whether knowledge is transferred to other overseas subsidiaries (KTO). Design/methodology - This paper used a structural equation model (SEM) of 282 effective foreign companies invested in Korea. To test the hypothesis about the process of SENT on KTO, descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability, convergent and discriminant validities, and common method bias were analyzed using STATA. In addition, the moderation effect was verified along with SEM. The moderation effect of AUT on SENT and KC was presented graphically by confirming \mathrm{\pm1} standard deviation of AUT for the main effect. Findings - Our findings are as follows. First, while the hypothesis about the direct effect of SENT and KC on KTO was not supported, all other hypotheses were supported. Second, both the AUT and moderating effect and the indirect effect of NP were significant. In the conclusion, these findings are discussed in relation to its various theoretical and practical implications. Originality/value - This study attempted to contribute to the knowledge creation theory of MNC by contemplating how subsidiaries can move away from HQ and grow in the local market. Although there is still a shortage of foreign investment in the Korean market, our practical implications offer guidance for how current subsidiaries can develop more than other overseas subsidiaries.