• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.18
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• pp.9-39
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• 2003

The rule of the Warsaw Convention of 1929 are well known and still being all over the world. The Warsaw Convention is undoubtedly the most widely accepted private international air law treaty with some 140 countries. In the international legal system for air transportation, the Warsaw Convention has played a major role for more than half century, and has been revised many times in consideration of the rapid developments of air high technology, changes of social and economic circumstances, need for the protection of passengers. Some amendments became effective, but others are still not effective. As a result, the whole international legal system for air transportation is at past so complicated and tangled. However, the 'Warsaw system' consists of the Warsaw Convention of 1929 the Guadalajara Convention of 1961, a supplementary convention, and the following six protocols: (1) the Hague Protocol of 1955, (2) the Guatemala Protocol of 1971, (3) the Montreal Additional Protocols, No.1, (4) the Montreal Additional Protocol No.2, (5) the Montreal Additional Protocol No.3, and (6) the Montreal Additional Protocol No.4. of 1975. As a fundamental principle of the air carrier's liability in the international convention and protocols, for instance in the Warsaw Convention and the Hague Protocol, the principle of limited liability and a presumed fault system has been adopted. Subsequently, the Montreal Inter-carrier Agreement of 1966, the Guatemala City Protocol, the Montreal Additional Protocol No.3, and the Montreal Additional Protocol No. 4 of 1975 maintained the limited liability, but substituted the presumed liability system by an absolute liability, that is, strict liability system. The Warsaw System, which sets relatively low compensation limits for victims of aircraft accidents and regulates the limited liability for death and injury of air passengers, had become increasingly outdated. Japanese Airlines and Inter-carrier Agreement of International Air Transport Association in 1995 has been adopted the unlimited liability of air carrier in international flight. The IATA Inter-Carrier Agreement, in which airlines in international air transportation agree to waive the limit of damages, was long and hard in coming, but it was remarkable achievement given the political and economic realities of the world. IATA deserves enormous credit for bringing it about. The Warsaw System is controversial and questionable. In order to find rational solution to disputes between nations which adopted differing liability systems in international air transportation, we need to reform the liability of air carriers the 'Warsaw system' and fundamentally, to unify the liability system among the nations. The International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) will therefore reinforce its efforts to further promote a legal environment that adequately reflects the public interest and the needs of the parties involved. The ICAO Study Group met in April, 1998, together with the Drafting Committee. The time between the "Special Group on the Modernization and Consolidation of the 'Warsaw system'(SGMW)" and the Diplomatic Conference must be actively utilized to arrange for profound studies of the outstanding issues and for wide international consultations with a view to narrowing the scope of differences and preparing for a global international consensus. From 11 to 28 May 1999 the ICAO Headquarters at Montreal hosted a Diplomatic Conference convened to consider, with a view to adoption, a draft Convention intended to modernize and to integrate replace the instruments of the Warsaw system. The Council of ICAO convened this Conference under the Procedure for the Adoption of International Conventions. Some 525 participants from 121 Contracting States of ICAO attended, one non-contracting State, 11 observer delegations from international organizations, a total of 544 registered participants took part in the historic three-week conference which began on 10 May. The Conference was a success since it adopted a new Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air. The 1999 Montreal Convention, created and signed by representatives of 52 countries at an international conference convened by ICAO at Montreal on May 28, 1999, came into effect on November 4, 2003. Representatives of 30 countries have now formally ratified the Convention under their respective national procedures and ratification of the United States, which was the 30th country to ratify, took place on September 5, 2003. Under Article 53.6 of the Montreal Convention, it enters into force on the 60th day following the deposit of the 30th instrument of ratification or acceptation. The United States' ratification was deposited with ICAO on September 5, 2003. The ICAO have succeeded in modernizing and consolidating a 70-year old system of international instruments of private international law into one legal instrument that will provide, for years to come, an adequate level of compensation for those involved in international aircraft accidents. An international diplomatic conference on air law by ICAO of 1999 succeeded in adopting a new regime for air carrier liability, replacing the Warsaw Convention and five other related legal instruments with a single convention that provided for unlimited liability in relation to passengers. Victims of international air accidents and their families will be better protected and compensated under the new Montreal Convention, which modernizes and consolidates a seventy-five year old system of international instruments of private international law into one legal instrument. A major feature of the new legal instrument is the concept of unlimited liability. Whereas the Warsaw Convention set a limit of 125,000 Gold Francs (approximately US$ 8,300) in case of death or injury to passengers, the Montreal Convention introduces a two-tier system. The first tier includes strict liability up to l00,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR: approximately US$ 135,000), irrespective of a carrier's fault. The second tier is based on presumption of fault of a carrier and has no limit of liability. The 1999 Montreal Convention also includes the following main elements; 1. In cases of aircraft accidents, air carriers are called upon to provide advance payments, without delay, to assist entitled persons in meeting immediate economic needs; the amount of this initial payment will be subject to national law and will be deductable from the final settlement; 2. Air carriers must submit proof of insurance, thereby ensuring the availability of financial resources in cases of automatic payments or litigation; 3. The legal action for damages resulting from the death or injury of a passenger may be filed in the country where, at the time of the accident, the passenger had his or her principal and permanent residence, subject to certain conditions. The new Montreal Convention of 1999 included the 5th jurisdiction - the place of residence of the claimant. The acceptance of the 5th jurisdiction is a diplomatic victory for the US and it can be realistically expected that claimants' lawyers will use every opportunity to file the claim in the US jurisdiction - it brings advantages in the liberal system of discovery, much wider scope of compensable non-economic damages than anywhere else in the world and the jury system prone to very generous awards. 4. The facilitation in the recovery of damages without the need for lengthy litigation, and simplification and modernization of documentation related to passengers. In developing this new Montreal Convention, we were able to reach a delicate balance between the needs and interests of all partners in international civil aviation, States, the travelling public, air carriers and the transport industry. Unlike the Warsaw Convention, the threshold of l00,000 SDR specified by the Montreal Convention, as well as remaining liability limits in relation to air passengers and delay, are subject to periodic review and may be revised once every five years. The primary aim of unification of private law as well as the new Montreal Convention is not only to remove or to minimize the conflict of laws but also to avoid conflict of jurisdictions. In order to find a rational solution to disputes between nations which have adopted differing liability systems in international air transport, we need fundamentally to reform their countries's domestic air law based on the new Montreal Convention. It is a desirable and necessary for us to ratify rapidly the new Montreal Convention by the contracting states of lCAO including the Republic of Korea. According to the Korean and Japanese ideas, airlines should not only pay compensation to passengers immediately after the accident, but also the so-called 'condolence' money to the next of kin. Condolence money is a gift to help a dead person's spirit in the hereafter : it is given on account of the grief and sorrow suffered by the next of kin, and it has risen considerably over the years. The total amount of the Korean and Japanese claims in the case of death is calculated on the basis of the loss of earned income, funeral expenses and material demage (baggage etc.), plus condolence money. The economic and social change will be occurred continuously after conclusion of the new Montreal Convention. In addition, the real value of life and human right will be enhanced substantially. The amount of compensation for damage caused by aircraft accident has increased in dollar amount as well as in volume. All air carrier's liability should extend to loss of expectation of leisure activities, as well as to damage to property, and mental and physical injuries. When victims are not satisfied with the amount of the compensation for damage caused by aircraft accident for which an airline corporation is liable under the current liability system. I also would like to propose my opinion that it is reasonable and necessary for us to interpret broadly the meaning of the bodily injury on Article 17 of the new Montreal Convention so as to be included the mental injury and condolence. Furthermore, Korea and Japan has not existed the Air Transport Act regulated the civil liability of air carrier such as Air Transport Act (Luftverkehrsgestz) in Germany. It is necessary for us to enact "the Korean Air Transport Contract Act (provisional title)" in order to regulate the civil liability of air carrier including the protection of the victims and injured persons caused by aircraft accident.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.276-293
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• 2011

In this study a modeling system consisting of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE), the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, and the CMAQ-Model of Aerosol Dynamics, Reaction, Ionization, and Dissolution (MADRID) model has been applied to estimate enhancements of $PM_{10}$ during Asian dust events in Korea. In particular, 5 experimental formulas were applied to the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ (MADRID) model to estimate Asian dust emissions from source locations for major Asian dust events in China and Mongolia: the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) model, the Goddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model, and the Dust Entrainment and Deposition (DEAD) model, as well as formulas by Park and In (2003), and Wang et al. (2000). According to the weather map, backward trajectory and satellite image analyses, Asian dust is generated by a strong downwind associated with the upper trough from a stagnation wave due to development of the upper jet stream, and transport of Asian dust to Korea shows up behind a surface front related to the cut-off low (known as comma type cloud) in satellite images. In the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ modeling to estimate the PM10 concentration, Wang et al.'s experimental formula was depicted well in the temporal and spatial distribution of Asian dusts, and the GOCART model was low in mean bias errors and root mean square errors. Also, in the vertical profile analysis of Asian dusts using Wang et al's experimental formula, strong Asian dust with a concentration of more than $800\;{\mu}g/m^3$ for the period of March 31 to April 1, 2007 was transported under the boundary layer (about 1 km high), and weak Asian dust with a concentration of less than $400\;{\mu}g/m^3$ for the period of 16-17 March 2009 was transported above the boundary layer (about 1-3 km high). Furthermore, the difference between the CMAQ model and the CMAQ-MADRID model for the period of March 31 to April 1, 2007, in terms of PM10 concentration, was seen to be large in the East Asia area: the CMAQ-MADRID model showed the concentration to be about $25\;{\mu}g/m^3$ higher than the CMAQ model. In addition, the $PM_{10}$ concentration removed by the cloud liquid phase mechanism within the CMAQ-MADRID model was shown in the maximum $15\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in the Eastern Asia area.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.71-85
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• 2018

A recent topic of interest within ecology is ecosystem services that are importantly connected with biodiversity. Biodiversity is a fundamental component of ecological studies and has been the subject of many studies worldwide. However, studies on the diversity and distribution of freshwater fish were not undertaken in earnest until 2000, and the number of internationally available studies is therefore still limited. In this study, we used data from "The Survey and Evaluation of Aquatic Ecosystem Health (hereafter SEAEH)" within the framework of which whole water systems on the Korean peninsula are annually monitored to investigate and determine the current status of the diversity and distribution of freshwater fish, as well as to elucidate major factors impacting freshwater fish. A total of 130 species from 28 families were identified at around 953 sites in the SEAEH investigation of 2014. The species Zacco platypus (relative abundance: 28.2%) and Z. koreanus (19.3%) were identified as the most abundant species on the Korean peninsula, and besides these 20 endangered species, 51 endemic species and 4 exotic species were also collected. Highest (96 species) and lowest (72 species) diversity were identified in the Han River Watershed and the Yeongsan/Seomjin River Watershed, respectively. The mean endemic rate was 32.7%, which is higher than the previous rate determined in 1995. The exotic species Micropterus salmoides, Lepomis macrochirus and Carassius cuvieri were found in the whole river system except north Yeongdong, whereas Oreochromis niloticus occurred only at three sites due to the cold water temperatures in winter. Totally, 28 species were found to be translocated to different water systems not connected with known original habitats, most translocations occurring in the Nakdong River and the Yeongdong region. Among the translocated species, Opsariichthys uncirostris amurensis, and Erythroculter erythropterus were dominantly distributed in the mid- to lower reaches of Nakdong River where they may be harmful to the native fish assemblages due to their strong predation. The construction of weirs in connection with the "4 River Project" generated changes in fish assemblages before, during and after the project, resulting in altered habitat condition. Especially, a decrease in the number of endemic species and an increase in the abundance of lentic species were seen. Human-induced global warming will allow exotic species requiring high water temperatures to adapt to the environmental conditions of the Korean peninsula, which may enhance the diversity of native fishes and create changes in distribution. For the establishment of realistic and efficient management and protection strategies for Korean freshwater fish, SEAEH, which produces fundamental and quantitative data for Korean streams, is an important and necessary tool.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.59-75
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• 2020

This study is a case study that applied 'UNDRR's Urban Disaster Resilience Scorecard', an evaluation tool necessary for Incheon Metropolitan City to be certified as an international safe city. I would like to present an example that the results derived from this scorecard contributed to the Incheon Metropolitan City Disaster Reduction Plan. Of course, the Disaster Resilience Scorecard can't provide a way to improve the resilience of every disaster facing the city. However, it is to find the weakness of the resilience that the city faces, and to propose a solution to reduce the city's disaster risk. This is to help practitioners to recognize the disaster risks that Incheon Metropolitan City faces. In addition, the solution recommended by UNDRR was suggested to provide resilience in areas vulnerable to disasters. It was confirmed that this process can contribute to improving the disaster resilience of Incheon Metropolitan City. UNDRR has been spreading 'Climate Change, Disaster-resistant City Creation Campaign', aka MCR (Making Cities Resilient) Campaign, to cities all over the world since 2010 to reduce global cities' disasters. By applying the disaster relief guidelines adopted by UNDRR, governments, local governments, and neighboring cities are encouraged to collaborate. As a result of this study, Incheon Metropolitan city's UN Urban Resilience Scorecard was evaluated as a strong resilience field by obtaining scores of 4 or more (4.3~5.0) in 5 of 10 essentials; 1. Prepare organization for disaster resilience and prepare for implementation, 4. Strong resilience Urban development and design pursuit, 5. Preservation of natural cushions to enhance the protection provided by natural ecosystems, 9. Ensure effective disaster preparedness and response, 10. Rapid restoration and better reconstruction. On the other hand, in the other five fields, scores of less than 4 (3.20~3.85) were obtained and evaluated as weak resilience field; 2. Analyze, understand and utilize current and future risk scenarios, 3. Strengthen financial capacity for resilience, 6. Strengthen institutional capacity for resilience, 7. Understanding and strengthening social competence for resilience, 8. Strengthen resilience of infrastructure. In addition, through this study, the risk factors faced by Incheon Metropolitan City could be identified by priority, resilience improvement measures to minimize disaster risks, urban safety-based urban development plans, available disaster reduction resources, and integrated disasters. Measures were prepared.