• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.333-358
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• 2021

This study investigates consumers' purchasing behavior and perception of the low-carbon certificated agricultural product. To this end, we surveyed 1,000 consumers and the main findings are as follows. First, Even after six years of national certification, it is important to promote the low-carbon certification system due to insufficient awareness and purchase experience. Second, the certificated area is small at around 5% of the area of environment-friendly agricultural products and GAP certification, and certification is concentrated on fruit trees. Third, an appropriate level of high-priced strategy can be useful considering the cost of low-carbon certification, image management of low-carbon certificated agricultural products, and quality is the most important factor for consumers to consider when purchasing fresh agricultural products. Fourth, consumers recognized that the contribution of low carbon certification in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving the environment was higher than that of environment-friendly agricultural products or GAP certification. Considering that, promotional activities linked to environment-friendly agricultural products and GAP certification may be effective when promoting low-carbon certification. Finally, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is implementing a carbon point system linked to Green Card to revitalize low carbon certification, but 25.7% of consumers are aware of it, and 8.4% have little experience in issuing it.

• Korean Journal of Artificial Intelligence
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.1-5
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• 2023

With recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, more products based on AI are being launched and used. However, using AI safely requires an awareness of the potential risks it can pose. These concerns must be evaluated by experts and users must be informed of the results. In response to this need, many countries have implemented certification programs for products based on AI. In this study, we analyze several trends and differences in AI product certification programs across several countries and emphasize the importance of such programs in ensuring the safety and trustworthiness of products that include AI. To this end, we examine four international AI product certification programs and suggest methods for improving and promoting these programs. The certification programs target AI products produced for specific purposes such as autonomous intelligence systems and facial recognition technology, or extend a conventional software quality certification based on the ISO/IEC 25000 standard. The results of our analysis show that companies aim to strategically differentiate their products in the market by ensuring the quality and trustworthiness of AI technologies. Additionally, we propose methods to improve and promote the certification programs based on the results. These findings provide new knowledge and insights that contribute to the development of AI-based product certification programs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.557-566
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• 2014

The purpose of the study is to determine how consumers perceive certification marks for agricultural products. The study examined three agricultural product certifications, such as the certification of environment-friendly agricultural products, Good Agricultural Procuts (GAP) certification mark, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certification mark. A survey was utilized for data collection from adults over the age of 19 in November, 2013. A total of 390 questionnaires were distributed, and 300 of those were obtained for an analysis of the study. The results were as follows. First, consumers' awareness of, image of, and credibility on the agricultural products with the certification marks were not significantly different among the three certification marks except consumers' awareness. Second, consumers' purchase intentions for and willingness to pay for the agricultural products with the certification marks were not significantly different among the three certification marks. Third, these variables were not significantly different between buying group and non-buying group except consumers' awareness. Lastly, buying group and non-buying group were significantly different only in gender and marital status. The findings offer implications to the food and food service industry regarding consumers' purchase of certified agricultural products. Further, the study enforces the roles of food industry for environment.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.177-197
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• 2010

Japan launched its regulatory certification system for organic foods based on the amended JAS laws in June 2000, followed by the implementation of regulations on organic agricultural products and organic processed foods in January 2001 and with the implementation of the standards on organic animal husbandry and organic feed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries in 2005, organic foods have been under integrated and systematic supervision. Certification of organic foods can be undertaken by registered accredited bodies (private certification bodies) or legal entities conforming to the regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries. However, with the amendment of the JAS laws in March 2006, only legal entities conforming to the regulations of the ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 are eligible as certification bodies. Foreign organic products imported to Japan must be certified organic under JAS regulations and must be manufactured or produced by foreign manufacturers certified by local or foreign registered accredited organizations and distributed with the Organic JAS Mark affixed or through importers certified by local registered accredited organizations and distributed with the Organic JAS Mark affixed on the products. It can be implied from the Japanese case study that it necessary to reform the diverse agricultural products certification systems to set up an integrated certification system, and the restructuring of government organizations, reforms of environmentally-friendly agricultural products certification system and the integration of the organic food certification systems are needed in order to integrate the control of the standards and certification systems.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.924-937
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• 2015

This study surveyed the recognition and credibility of infant's organic cotton apparel and examined the current quality of children's organic cotton clothes available in the market. This study contributes to improve fabric certification programs and safety standards by understanding customer opinions and actual quality. A customer survey revealed that customers believe that organic cotton products should not include chemicals such as pesticides, fluorescent whitening agents and chemical colors; in addition, customers have high expectations for safety as well as worries about the products' validity. Children's underwear was the most purchased item category among organic cotton products. Current organic cotton certification programs are voluntary with multiple organizations that provide various certification standards. A total of 34.2% of children's organic cotton clothes sold at online and offline stores were not certified, and 10.5% had invalid certification information. This may substantially lower the credibility of organic cotton products and requires immediate change. Examination of organic cotton products showed that products do not meet customer expectations for quality and safety: 3 out of 8 products used accessories (buttons and wappens) that include harmful chemicals such as lead, phthalate and formaldehyde, 6 products used fluorescent whitening agents, and 4 products used other fabrics such as rayon, polyurethane and polyester. GOTS mark is the most recognized organic certification, but it still allows the usage of fluorescent whitening agents, which indicates a gap between customer opinions and actual certification standards. Managing national-level mandatory certification programs like food and setting quality standards that meets customer expectations are required to enhance the credibility of organic cotton products.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.96 no.5
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• pp.533-538
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• 2007

This study was conducted in the spring of 2005 through personal interviews to examine the opinions of forest products manufacturers and consumers about the perspective of forest certification in South Korea and to characterize those consumers who expect the activation of a forest certification system in South Korea. Study results indicated that consumers showed more positive aspect for the activation of forest certification than forest products manufacturers. Respondents who had a negative view for establishing a forest certification system in South Korea pointed out a lack of customers' demand for certified wood products as the most important reason. Results also showed that, even when a forest certification system would be introduced as a possible policy for helping to attain sustainable forest management, it would take at least 5 to 10 years to establish a forest certification system in South Korea. To facilitate the establishment of the system, many respondents suggested that an increased public awareness of forest certification systems was the most required precedent condition, and government for manufacturers and forest management association for consumers had to certify forest management practices as a competent organization. A profile of consumers who expected the activation of a forest certification system would describe in relative terms as the highly educated female who interviewed in the city of Seoul and of the 20 age bracket. Although there were an increased public awareness and positive prospective of forest certification by consumers and forest products manufacturers, it is required to arouse much more interest of consumers about the system.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.375-391
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• 2022

This study investigated the online transaction status of low-carbon certified fresh agricultural products and analyzed the low-carbon certified premium. For two months from March to April 2022, eight products (rice, apple, pear, sweet persimmons, paprika, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and lettuce) were surveyed at major online shopping malls. The low-carbon certification premium was analyzed using hedonic price analysis model. As a result of the online market survey, the low-carbon certified agricultural products were not traded in the case of rice, cherry tomatoes, and paprika. And the proportion of low-carbon certified agricultural products in the case of tomatoes and lettuce was low. As a result of the low-carbon premium analysis, of the five products that analyzed the low-carbon certification premium, four products excluding pear did not have a low-carbon certification premium. Thus, it is necessary to expand the sale of the low-carbon certified agricultural products by distributors, and various efforts to secure the premium of certified agricultural products are important.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.2
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• pp.203-211
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• 2009

The study was conducted to examine consumers' awareness and perceptions on forest certification and their willingness to buy and pay price premium for certified wood products especially for selected four wood products. A total of 136 residents in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were interviewed in the autumn of 2008. Although only 24.3 percent of the consumers are aware of forest certification, 82.4 percent of the respondents recognized the need and significance of forest certification. In general, 77.2 percent of the respondents were willing to buy certified wood products. Majority of the respondents, 84 out of 136 respondents (61.8%) expressed their willingness to pay (WTP) from more than 0 percent to less than 10 percent. Consumers' average WTP for certified wood products was estimated to be 5.6 percent. From the results of the study, lower priced wood products, such as copier paper (WTP=9.8%) and wood frame (WTP=11.6%), have higher price premiums than high priced products, such as wood table (WTP=6.8%) and wood flooring (WTP=7.6%). In conclusion, there could be feasible markets for certified wood products in South Korea as four out of five consumer are willing to pay more for such products. For the forest certification system to be adopted and widely accepted, the perceptions of forest stakeholders including consumers should be further increased.

• Informatization Policy
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.26-47
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• 2022

"The certification of compliance of new products of industrial convergence" (hereinafter referred to as "certification of compliance") is a legal certification system in accordance with the Industrial Convergence Promotion Act through which a convergence new product can be officially certified without legislation when the certification standards applicable to the product are not yet provided. Unlike other certification systems, the certification of compliance is characterized by the role of resolving the certification difficulties driven by the regulatory lag of convergence new products. Nevertheless, studies that analyzed the certification of compliance in detail from the viewpoint of regulatory improvement were surprisingly rare. Through the sequential matching of the steps of certification of compliance with the process from the occurrence of a regulatory problem to resolution, our study provided clear understanding as to how the regulatory lag could be reduced by the procedure for certification of compliance. Furthermore, we divided the perspective on regulatory lag management into quantitative and qualitative, and the structures and practices of certification of compliance were then analyzed from the two perspectives. By doing this, the present study emphasized that the fundamental reason the certification of compliance could effectively solve the regulatory lag problem of convergence new products was not only the quantitative elements such as legal deadlines for each step but also several qualitative approaches to securing the quality of every stage.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.207-230
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• 2022

A survey on the understanding of environment-friendly certification system was conducted for certified operators. The survey included the necessity of certification system, difficulties in producing certified products, and general evaluation of the current certification system. Certified operators were generally satisfied with the certification system in terms of the certification standards, the public subsidy programs, and the farm management costs. Individuals with parallel production farms were relatively less satisfied than the group with full-time organic farmers. Analysis using the ranking probit model indicated that the longer the certification experience, the more highly aware the need for the certification system was. Our results indicated that policy strategies are needed to enlarge the marketability of environment-friendly agricultural products since economic factors of organic products were the most important factor for maintaining and expanding certification in overseas as well as in Korea. It seems to be necessary to implement economic triggers for certified operators to continue their certification programs by promoting the transition period certification for individual farms in parallel with conventional agriculture. Analysis of the variables correlated with the expansion of environment-friendly agriculture by the logit model implied that certified operators with the younger age and higher annual incomes were more likely to expand environment-friendly agriculture. Therefore, it might also be important to provide financial support and incentives for new entry farmers to participate in environment-friendly agriculture and establish a system to share the know-how of successful certified organic farmers.