• International Area Studies Review
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1-21
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• 2013

This study aims at conducting a quantitative assessment of potential economic effects of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) consisting of 10 Member States of the ASEAN, Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand using a multi-region, multi-sector CGE model. Three different policy scenarios are carried out based on baseline scenarios: China-Japan-Korea FTA (Scenario 1); ASEAN+3 FTA (Scenario 2); and the RCEP (Scenario 3). The impacts of three scenarios are described in terms of real GDP, Equivalent Variation as a measure of welfare, export and import volumes, trade balance, and terms of trade. This study finds that the RCEP is to lead to an increase in real GDP of all members of the RCEP, with Korea as a winner with a highest additional economic growth of 2.43 percent, which implies that Korea is in a better position to play a leading role in promoting the RCEP.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.95-112
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• 2021

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed by the 15 Asian countries in 2020 forms the world's largest free trading bloc. Using data for the period 2001 - 2019, this study evaluates global value chains (GVCs) among the RCEP members, with a primary focus on GVC backward participation which involves imports intermediates embodied in exports. This study finds that the RCEP's intra-regional linkages, particularly with the ASEAN members, are significantly higher than its extra-regional linkages in trade and GVC backward participation. Among the individual RCEP member countries, Korea is found to have a particularly strong intra-regional linkages with the ASEAN members in both trade and GVC participation.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.147-160
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• 2022

This study aim to use the GTAP model to analyze the impact of RCEP Fermentation in the Korean manufacturing industry by quantifying the RCEP tariff commitment table. The research results show RCEP has boosted output in all sub-manufactures except wood and printed matter due to increased export volumes. Wood products, on the other hand, are more reliant on imports due to lower production due to lower domestic sales or overall exports. After RCEP came into effect, the import and export scale of Korea's manufacturing industry expanded effectively. Among them, the positive impact on the intensive low-tech manufacturing industries such as clothing and leather products, wood products and printing products, and food, beverage and tobacco products is greater than the positive impact on the technology-intensive medium and high-tech and high-tech manufacturing industries. And found that the growth rate of Korea's manufacturing trade is basically proportional to the tax reduction rate of RCEP. Finally, in order to promote the development of the manufacturing industry, some suggestions are put forward that need the government's policy support and strengthen the regional cooperation with RCEP member countries.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.83-97
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• 2022

Purpose - In this paper, we, taking South Korea's foreign direct investment in RCEP partners as an example, will examine its investment efficiency in these countries and analyze the main influencing factors, making suggestions for further liberalizing and facilitating its investment in and even for promoting its trade and economic cooperation with them. Design/methodology - In this study, we look at the panel data of South Korea and the other 13 RCEP countries (Brunei excluded) from 2000 to 2019 and apply the stochastic frontier analysis to measure its foreign direct investment efficiency and explore the influencing factors in RCEP countries. We examine the investment potential of South Korea in these places. Findings - We find that South Korea's average investment efficiency in RCEP countries reached 0.62, indicating large investment potential. We also find that its investment efficiency in RCEP partners was heterogeneous. Our study reveals that South Korea's foreign direct investment is significantly positively correlated with the market size and population of the two countries, as well as with whether the host country has a coastline and rich natural resources, while negatively with geographic distance. It shows that free trade agreements, economic freedom, and regulatory quality play significant roles in improving investment efficiency. Originality/value - Through theoretical and empirical analysis, we deal with the efficiency and influencing factors of South Korea's direct investment in RCEP partners, proposing new drivers for facilitating its trade and investment in these countries and comprehensively evaluating the efficiency and revealing the trend of its FDI in these countries. In this paper, we put forward a solid theoretical basis for empirical analysis of the future economic and trade development between South Korea and its RCEP partners and give objective insights for further improving its foreign direct investment efficiency and tapping its investment potential.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.135-149
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• 2021

This study analyzes the economic effect through the use of the RCEP direct transport rules, and suggests the necessacity of logistics efficiency and policy alternatives. The advantage of the hub network has been widely applied to the international logistics system, but there is a limit in the FTA logistics system in which goods must be directly transported between two contracting parties. Therefore, based on the new RCEP direct transport rules and the theoretical review on the possibility of an FTA logistics hub, FTA logistics efficiency improvement is estimated. This study quantitatively estimated the economic effect of direct transportation, unlike the previous studies, which were limited to the analysis of judicial precedents or surveys. GTAP model was used through five scenarios according to the impact of the RCEP tariff cut and the FTA logistics hub establishment in Singapore or Korea. As a result of the analysis, Korea's trade volume increased by 0.38% of exports and 1.63% of imports, and RCEP would increase exports by 0.27% and imports by 0.42%. In particular, the establishment of an FTA logistics hub (0.71%) was found to have a greater effect on the improvement of terms of trade than a tariff cut (0.12%), confirming the necessity of establishing an FTA logistics hub in RCEP. As a policy proposal, the institutional support of the customs authorities for the use of RCEP, the expansion of the free trade area where BWT traded cargo can be stored, and the establishment of a system for issuing back-to-back certificates of origin with approved exporters.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.48-53
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• 2001

In speaker verification based on LPC analysis the prediction residues are ignored and LPCC(LPC cepstrum) are only used to compose feature vectors. In this study, LPCC and RCEP (residual cepstrum) extracted from residues are used as feature parameters in the various environmental speaker verification. We propose the weighting function which can enlarge inter-speaker variation by weighting pitch, speaker inherent vector, included in residual cepstrum. Simulation results show that the average speaker verification rate is improved in the rate of 6％ with RCEP and LPCC at the same time and is improved in the rate of 2.45% with the proposed weighted RCEP and LPCC at the same time compared with no weighting.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.1-20
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• 2023

Purpose - Using trade data from 2008 to 2019, this study analyzes the impact of trade facilitation on China's agricultural exports under the RCEP framework using a gravity model based on the level of trade facilitation in 13 RCEP countries. Design/methodology - This study constructs a complete set of trade facilitation index systems, comprehensively measures the trade facilitation level of RCEP member countries, and uses a gravity model to verify the critical role of trade facilitation level in enhancing the trade volumes of RCEP member countries. Findings - We found that trade facilitation has a significant impact on China's agricultural exports as a whole. The effect of each primary indicator varies in magnitude, with finance and e-commerce (F) having the most significant impact, followed by customs efficiency (C) and infrastructure development (1); the institutional environment has no significant effect. Originality/value - This study analyzes the impact of trade facilitation on China's agricultural exports from the perspective of exports, and uses the latest data to study the degree of the impact of trade facilitation in importing countries. Measures to jointly enhance trade facilitation among member countries under the RCEP framework are proposed.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.3-25
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• 2022

East Asia's Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into force in 2022 as the world's largest free trade agreement. RCEP was concluded, signed and brought into force in the face of major international uncertainty and is a significant boost to the global trading system. RCEP brings Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand into the same agreement with the ten member ASEAN group at its centre. It keeps markets open and updates trade and investment rules in East Asia, a major centre of global economic activity, at a time of rising protectionism when the WTO itself is under threat. The agreement builds on ASEAN's free trade agreements and strengthens ASEAN centrality. One of the pillars of RCEP is an economic cooperation agenda which has its antecedents in ASEAN's approach to bringing along its least developed members and builds on the experience of capacity building in APEC and technical cooperation under the ASEAN Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. There is an opportunity to create a framework that facilitates deeper economic cooperation that involves experience-sharing, extending RCEP's rules and membership at the same time as strengthening political cooperation. The paper suggests some areas that might be best suited to cooperation - that is confidence and trust building instead of or before negotiation - and discusses how non-members may be engaged and the membership expanded. Options such as multilateralising provisions and becoming a platform for policy convergence and coordinating unilateral reforms are canvassed.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.171-207
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• 2020

Purpose - This paper investigates the potential effect of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on trade liberalization among member countries in order to answer key questions in our research on whether the RCEP will be a cornerstone or just collaboration. Furthermore, it aims to measure the likely magnitude of the economic impact it has on its members. Design/methodology - Toward achieving research objectives, we developed a regional CGE model based on the GTAP 9 database. Findings - The simulation results show Korea, Australia, India, and Japan ranked the top countries with an average growth in GDP of 0.38 %, 0.36%, 0.29%, and 0.23%, respectively. Moreover, China and New Zealand followed with a percentage of 0.12% each. The lower economic performing group is the ASEAN group due to a contraction in GDP by 0.13%. Accordingly, there was a positive impact of the RCEP agreement on all member states, as empirically demonstrated. Furthermore, Korea is one of the countries that will benefit most from joining this agreement. Finally, this agreement is important; it has many economic benefits to member states, but it is not a cornerstone. Originality/value - The examination of the quantitative effects of tariff removal among the RCEP's countries is its value. We will address all member countries of the convention simultaneously using a regional CGE model GAMS language, where we employed a Mathematical Programming System for General Equilibrium (MPSGE) to establish a Regional CGE model. This study is directed to policymakers looking at evaluating RCEP agreement.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.109-126
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• 2022

Purpose - Based on the relevant panel data for China and 13 of the RCEP countries from 2008-2019, this paper conducts an in-depth study on the impact of trade facilitation levels on China's cross-border e-commerce exports using the expanded trade gravity model. Design/methodology - This study constructs a trade facilitation index (TFI) system, and uses the principal component analysis method to measure the trade facilitation levels of RCEP countries in 2008-2019. This result is then introduced into the extended gravity model to explore the effect of trade facilitation in RCEP countries on China's cross-border e-commerce export. Findings - It is found that the overall trade facilitation level has a significant effect on China's cross-border e-commerce exports. Among the primary indicators, with the exception of infrastructure, the other four indicators demonstrate a significant impact. The findings show that China should strengthen its cooperation with RCEP countries in trade facilitation and cross-border e-commerce to better achieve complementary regional economic development. Originality/value - This paper has three contributions: first, this paper builds a TFI system that includes five primary indicators based on the characteristics of cross-border e-commerce. Second, we explore the impact of trade facilitation levels of RCEP countries on China's cross-border e-commerce exports, which helps to fill the gap in existing studies of the impact of cross-border e-commerce exports. Third, this paper further analyzes the impact of five primary indicators on cross-border e-commerce exports; this thus provides more targeted measures to improve trade facilitation levels.