• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.259-278
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• 2022

With the spread of Artificial Intelligence (AI), various AI-based services are expanding in the financial sector such as service recommendation, automated customer response, fraud detection system(FDS), credit scoring services, etc. At the same time, problems related to reliability and unexpected social controversy are also occurring due to the nature of data-based machine learning. The need Based on this background, this study aimed to contribute to improving trust in AI-based financial services by proposing a checklist to secure fairness in AI-based credit scoring services which directly affects consumers' financial life. Among the key elements of trustworthy AI like transparency, safety, accountability, and fairness, fairness was selected as the subject of the study so that everyone could enjoy the benefits of automated algorithms from the perspective of inclusive finance without social discrimination. We divided the entire fairness related operation process into three areas like data, algorithms, and user areas through literature research. For each area, we constructed four detailed considerations for evaluation resulting in 12 checklists. The relative importance and priority of the categories were evaluated through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). We use three different groups: financial field workers, artificial intelligence field workers, and general users which represent entire financial stakeholders. According to the importance of each stakeholder, three groups were classified and analyzed, and from a practical perspective, specific checks such as feasibility verification for using learning data and non-financial information and monitoring new inflow data were identified. Moreover, financial consumers in general were found to be highly considerate of the accuracy of result analysis and bias checks. We expect this result could contribute to the design and operation of fair AI-based financial services.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.275-285
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• 2021

COVID-19 is threatening the safety of ships and seafarers by delaying seafarer rotation. Shipping companies and governments have a blindspot in case of the onboard environment of seafarers. An effective, alternative plan should be devised to eliminate the possibility of human accidents in an emergency that threatens the safety of seafarers. According to the survey of former and current seafarers, the most important factor in boarding life was safety, and the most necessary thing during emergencies was to secure smooth seafarer rotation rather than improve wages and welfare. By analyzing the major routes of national shipping companies by continent, ports with a large number of calls and a high Air Connectivity Index were selected as the base port. In addition, the route was designed for effective, domestic seafarer rotation during international shipping. Other countries must be consulted to establish a travel route linking ships, ports, and airports for the safe return of sailors to their home countries during an emergency. In addition, it is necessary to work together for the seafarers who are in trouble of seafarer rotation through cooperation with the International Maritime Organization(IMO). Starting with this, the government should have a monitoring system for the return and non-return routes as well as the number of seafarers on board. If such a system is established, it will be able to determine the response direction of our country's policy in case of an emergency. Along with the shipping company's ef orts to improve the treatment of seafarers, national and social attention will be needed to review domestic laws and improve awareness about seafarers.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.285-297
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• 2022

We report results of Extended Leak-Off Test (XLOT) conducted in a large diameter borehole, which is drilled for installation of deep borehole geophysical monitoring system to monitor micro-earthquakes and fault behavior of major fault zones in the southeastern Korean Peninsula. The borehole was planned to secure a final diameter of 200 mm (or more) at a depth of ~1 km, with 12" diameter wellbore to intermediate depths, and 7-7/8" (~200 mm) to the bottom hole depth. We drilled first the 12" borehole to approximately 504 m deep and installed American Petroleum Institute standard 8-5/8" casing, then annulus between the casing and bedrock was fully cemented. XLOT was carried out for several purposes such as confirming casing and cementing integrity, measuring rock stress states. To that end, we drilled additional 4 m long open hole interval to directly inject water and pressurize into the rock mass using the upper API casings. During the XLOT, flow rates and interval pressures were recorded in real time. Based on the logs we tried to analyze hydraulic conductivity of the test interval.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.62-90
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• 2023

This study was conducted to study the vascular plants of Balbaeksan, located on the border between Gyeongsan-si and Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do. It was performed 13 times from September 2020 to November 2021, and the investigated vascular plants were identified as a total of 93 families, 302 genera, 485 species, 10 subspecies, 40 varieties, 13 varieties, and 545 taxa. Endemic plants were investigated in 18 taxa, 9 taxa of rare plants; Vulnerable (VU) 5 taxa, Least concerned (LC) 3 taxa, Data Deficient (DD) 1 taxa, Red List plants 5 taxa; 3 taxa of least concerned (LC), 2 taxa of Not Evaluated (NE), 183 taxa of biological resources subject to export approval, 78 taxa of specific taxonomy; There were 9 taxa of grade IV, 20 taxa of grade III, 20 taxa of grade II, and 28 taxa of grade I. 4 taxa of plants subject to climate change adaptation; 2 taxa of endemic plants, 1 taxa of southern plants, 1 taxa of northern plants, 4 taxa of climate change biomarker species, 2 taxa of candidate species of climate change biomarker, 65 taxa of exotic plants, and 3 taxa of ecosystem disturbance species. Plants 235 taxa (43.1%), medicinal plants 257 taxa (47.2%), ornamental plants 148 taxa (27.2%), woody plants 54 taxa (9.9%), herbaceous plants 37 taxa (6.8%), industrial plants 15 Taxa (2.8%), 11 taxa (2.0%) of fiber-bearing plants, and plants of unknown use were identified as 73 taxa (13.4%). The flora of Mt. Balbaek was investigated for the first time, and plants to be preserved in order to secure useful plant resources and biological sovereignty were identified. So continuous monitoring is necessary to prevent the introduction of foreign plants that may be caused by the recent increase in the number of people coming and going.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.1-20
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• 2023

The present study has monitored the changes in the biodiversity of Dunchon-Dong ecological and landscape conservation area after the restoration of the wetland, identified and analyzed the threats to the ecosystem, and presented a management plan accordingly. In this area which was forests and rice paddies in the past, apartment reconstruction is currently underway, with some hinterland forests and wetlands remaining. When we look into the change in the floras, the total number of species was 193 in 2000 before the restoration, it decreased from 2004 to 2006, and as of 2019, it was 149, showing an increasing trend. The result of comparing the species that emerged before and after the restoration showed an increase in Cyperaceae herbs such as Carex maximowiczii and Carex dispalata growing in wetland areas within forests and Schoenoplectiella juncoides and Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani growing in areas within wetlands where shallow water is maintained. As a result of analyzing the change in the area ratio of each type of extant vegetation, the wetland native herbs formed the power at the highest ratio after the restoration. The change in the power of the wetland native herbs was on an increasing trend until 2007, after which it decreased much in 2010 and then gradually increased, showing values of 26.6% in 2000, 44.6% in 2002, 49.0% in 2005, 53.3% in 2007, 28.7% in 2010, and 37.3% in 2019. The cause of the decrease in 2010 was judged to be due to the vegetation management conducted to secure open water and remove organic matter in freshwater reservoirs. The amphibia which emerged from 2000 to 2019 was a total of 9 species including Hynobius leeshii, Bufo gargarizans, Kaloula borealis, and Rana uenoi. As a result of the changes in the emerging wild birds, the species diversity index before the restoration was 0.9922 in 2000, and the species diversity index after the restoration gradually increased to 1.2449 in 2005, 1.2467 in 2010, and 2.2631 in 2019. The amphibia and wild birds inhibiting in the Dunchon-Dong forest and wetland were judged to have increased through continuous wetland maintenance such as naturalized plant removal management, native plant maintenance, and open water securing management. For the ecosystem preservation management of the Dunchon-Dong ecological and landscape conservation area, it was suggested to minimize the impact of the Dunchon-Dong reconstruction project, reorganize the indiscriminate access roads adjacent to the wetland, and reorganize the main entrance to the wetland. For ecosystem restoration management, systematic restoration and ecological buffer planting were suggested to be carried out at the time of construction fence demolition.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.217-246
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• 2018

During the selection and characterization of target formations in the Small-scale Offshore $CO_2$ Storage Demonstration Project in the Pohang Basin, we have carefully investigated the possibility of induced earthquakes and leakage of $CO_2$ during the injection, and have designed the storage processes to minimize these effects. However, people in Pohang city have a great concern on $CO_2$-injection-intrigued seismicity, since they have greatly suffered from the 5.4 magnitude earthquake on Nov. 15, 2017. The research team of the project performed an extensive self-investigation on the safety issues, especially on the possible $CO_2$ leakage from the target formation and induced earthquakes. The target formation is 10 km apart from the epicenter of the Pohang earthquake and the depth is also quite shallow, only 750 to 800 m from the sea bottom. The project performed a pilot injection in the target formation from Jan. 12 to Mar. 12, 2017, which implies that there are no direct correlation of the Pohang earthquake on Nov. 15, 2017. In addition, the $CO_2$ injection of the storage project does not fracture rock formations, instead, the supercritical $CO_2$ fluid replaces formation water in the pore space gradually. The self-investigation results show that there is almost no chance for the injection to induce significant earthquakes unless injection lasts for a very long time to build a very high pore pressure, which can be easily monitored. The amount of injected $CO_2$ in the project was around 100 metric-tonne that is irrelevant to the Pohang earthquake. The investigation result on long-term safety also shows that the induced earthquakes or the reactivation of existing faults can be prevented successfully when the injection pressure is controlled not to demage cap-rock formation nor exceed Coulomb stresses of existing faults. The project has been performing extensive studies on critical stress for fracturing neighboring formations, reactivation stress of existing faults, well-completion processes to minimize possible leakage, transport/leakage monitoring of injected $CO_2$, and operation procedures for ensuring the storage safety. These extensive studies showed that there will be little chance in $CO_2$ leakage that affects human life. In conclusion, the Small-scale Offshore $CO_2$ Storage Demonstration Project in the Pohang Basin would not cause any induced earthquakes nor signifiant $CO_2$ leakage that people can sense. The research team will give every effort to secure the safety of the storage site.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.119-135
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• 2021

Korea has stepped up efforts to investigate and catalog its flora and fauna to conserve the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula and secure biological resources since the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) in 2010. Thus, after its establishment in 2007, the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) of the Ministry of Environment of Korea initiated a project called the Korean Indigenous Species Investigation Project to investigate indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula. For 15 years since its beginning in 2006, this project has been carried out in five phases, Phase 1 from 2006-2008, Phase 2 from 2009-2011, Phase 3 from 2012-2014, Phase 4 from 2015-2017, and Phase 5 from 2018-2020. Before this project, in 2006, the number of indigenous species surveyed was 29,916. The figure was cumulatively aggregated at the end of each phase as 33,253 species for Phase 1 (2008), 38,011 species for Phase 2 (2011), 42,756 species for Phase 3 (2014), 49,027 species for Phase 4 (2017), and 54,428 species for Phase 5(2020). The number of indigenous species surveyed grew rapidly, showing an approximately 1.8-fold increase as the project progressed. These statistics showed an annual average of 2,320 newly recorded species during the project period. Among the recorded species, a total of 5,242 new species were reported in scientific publications, a great scientific achievement. During this project period, newly recorded species on the Korean Peninsula were identified using the recent taxonomic classifications as follows: 4,440 insect species (including 988 new species), 4,333 invertebrate species except for insects (including 1,492 new species), 98 vertebrate species (fish) (including nine new species), 309 plant species (including 176 vascular plant species, 133 bryophyte species, and 39 new species), 1,916 algae species (including 178 new species), 1,716 fungi and lichen species(including 309 new species), and 4,812 prokaryotic species (including 2,226 new species). The number of collected biological specimens in each phase was aggregated as follows: 247,226 for Phase 1 (2008), 207,827 for Phase 2 (2011), 287,133 for Phase 3 (2014), 244,920 for Phase 4(2017), and 144,333 for Phase 5(2020). A total of 1,131,439 specimens were obtained with an annual average of 75,429. More specifically, 281,054 insect specimens, 194,667 invertebrate specimens (except for insects), 40,100 fish specimens, 378,251 plant specimens, 140,490 algae specimens, 61,695 fungi specimens, and 35,182 prokaryotic specimens were collected. The cumulative number of researchers, which were nearly all professional taxonomists and graduate students majoring in taxonomy across the country, involved in this project was around 5,000, with an annual average of 395. The number of researchers/assistant researchers or mainly graduate students participating in Phase 1 was 597/268; 522/191 in Phase 2; 939/292 in Phase 3; 575/852 in Phase 4; and 601/1,097 in Phase 5. During this project period, 3,488 papers were published in major scientific journals. Of these, 2,320 papers were published in domestic journals and 1,168 papers were published in Science Citation Index(SCI) journals. During the project period, a total of 83.3 billion won (annual average of 5.5 billion won) or approximately US $75 million (annual average of US $5 million) was invested in investigating indigenous species and collecting specimens. This project was a large-scale research study led by the Korean government. It is considered to be a successful example of Korea's compressed development as it attracted almost all of the taxonomists in Korea and made remarkable achievements with a massive budget in a short time. The results from this project led to the National List of Species of Korea, where all species were organized by taxonomic classification. Information regarding the National List of Species of Korea is available to experts, students, and the general public (https://species.nibr.go.kr/index.do). The information, including descriptions, DNA sequences, habitats, distributions, ecological aspects, images, and multimedia, has been digitized, making contributions to scientific advancement in research fields such as phylogenetics and evolution. The species information also serves as a basis for projects aimed at species distribution and biological monitoring such as climate-sensitive biological indicator species. Moreover, the species information helps bio-industries search for useful biological resources. The most meaningful achievement of this project can be in providing support for nurturing young taxonomists like graduate students. This project has continued for the past 15 years and is still ongoing. Efforts to address issues, including species misidentification and invalid synonyms, still have to be made to enhance taxonomic research. Research needs to be conducted to investigate another 50,000 species out of the estimated 100,000 indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula.