• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.31
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• pp.27-56
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• 2006

Today's financial institutions usually take environmental issues seriously into consideration as they could not evade lender liability in an increasing number of cases. On the international scene, a brand-new concept of the "Equator Principles" in the New Millenium has driven more and more international banks to adopt these Principles in project financing. Sustainable development has been a key word in understanding new trends of the governments, financial institutions, corporations and civic groups in the 21st century. The Equator Principles are a set of voluntary environmental and social guidelines for sustainable finance. These Principles commit bank officers to avoid financial support to projects that fail to meet these guidelines. The Principles were conceived in 2002 on an initiative of the International Finance Corporation(IFC), and launched in June 2003. Since then, dozens of major banks, accounting for up to 80 percent of project loan market, have adopted the Principles. Accordingly, the Principles have become the de facto standard for all banks and investors on how to deal with potential social and environmental issues of projects to be financed. Compliance with the Equator Principles facilitates for endorsing banks to participate in the syndicated loan and help them to manage the risks associated with large-scale projects. The Equator Principles call for financial institutions to provide loans to projects under the following circumstances: - The risk of the project is categorized in accordance with internal guidelines based upon the environmental and social screening criteria of the IFC. - For Category A and B projects, borrowers or sponsors are required to conduct a Social and Environmental Assessment, the preparation of which must meet certain requirements and satisfactorily address key social and environmental issues. - The Social and Environmental Assessment report should address baseline social and environmental conditions, requirements under host country laws and regulations, sustainable development, and, as appropriate, IFC's Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines, etc. - Based on the Social and Environmental Assessment, Equator banks then make agreements with borrowers on how they mitigate, monitor and manage the risks through a Social and Environmental Management System. Compliance with the plan is included in the covenant clause of loan agreements. If the borrower doesn't comply with the agreed terms, the bank will take corrective actions. The Equator Principles are not a mere declaration of cautious banks but a full commitment of lenders. A violation of the Principles in the process of project financing, which led to an unexpected damage to the affected community, would not give rise to any specific legal remedies other than ordinary lawsuits. So it is more effective for banks to ensure consistent implementation of the Principles and to have them take responsible measures to solve social and environmental issues. Public interests have recently mounted up with respect to environmental issues on the occasion of the Supreme Court's decision (2006Du330) on the fiercely debated reclamation project at Saemangeum. The majority Justices said that the expected environmental damages like probable pollution of water and soil were not believed so serious and that the Administration should continue to implement the project seeking ways to make it more environment friendly. In this case, though the Category A Saemangeum Project was carried out by a government agency, the Supreme Court behaved itself as a signal giver to approve or stop the environment-related project like an Equator bank in project financing. At present, there is no Equator bank in Korea in contrast to three big banks in Japan. Also Korean contractors, which are aggressively bidding for Category A-type projects in South East Asia and Mideast, might find themselves in a disadvantageous position because they are generally ignorant of the environmental assessment associated with project financing. In this regard, Korean banks and overseas project contractors should care for the revised Equator Principles and the latest developments in project financing more seriously. It's because its scope has expanded to the capital cost of US$10 million or more across all industry sectors regardless of developing countries or not. It should be noted that, for a Korean bank, being an Equator bank is more or less burdensome in a short-term period, but it must be conducive to minimizing risks and building up good reputation in the long run.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.1084-1091
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• 2002

Mortierella alpina, a common soil fungus, is the most efficient organism for production of production acid presently known. Since arachidonic acid are important in human brain and retina development, it was undertaken the growing effect containing diet as a food ingredient. Arachidonic acid rich oil derived from Mortierella alpina, was subjected to a program of studies to establish for use in diet supplement. This study was compared the growth and learning effect of fungal oil rich in arachidonic acid by incorporated into diets ad libitum. Sprague-Dawley rats received experimental diets 5 groups (standard AIN 93 based control with beef tallow, extract oil 8%, and 4%, and Mortierella alpina in diet 10% and 20%) over all experiment duration (pre-mating, mating, gestation, lactation, and after weaning 4 weeks). Pups born during this period consumed same diets after wean for 4 weeks. There was no statistical significance of diet effects in reproductive performance and fertility from birth to weaning. But the groups of Mortierella alpine diet were lower of weight gain and diet intake after weaning. The serum lipids were significantly different with diet groups, higher TG in LO (oil 4%) group of dams, and higher total cholesterol in LF (M. alpina 10%) of pups, although serum albumin content was not significantly different in diet group. The spent-time and memory effect within 4 weeks of T-Morris water maze pass test in dam and 7-week- age pups did not differ in diet groups. On the count of backing error in weaning period of pups was lower in HO(extracted oil 8%) group. In the group of 10% and 20% Mortierella alpina diet, DNA content was lower in brain with lower body weight, but liver DNA relative to body weight was higher than control. Further correlation analyses would be needed DNA and arachidonic acid intakes, with Mortierella alpina diet digestion rate.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.1155-1162
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• 2002

Food waste in school foodservices is an important factor in managing expense or evaluating the acceptance of served meals and a serious environmental hazard factor in all countries. In this study, the perception and attitude towards food waste reduction and the recognition of environmental pollution of students from elementary school foodservices in Busan, Korea were investigated. The questionnaire was responded by 519 students (boy: 255, girl: 264) in the third and sixth grades. School lunch programs were proved to contribute to the improvement of students' food intake habits. The perception and attitude towards food waste reduction of the third grade students (3.61/3.73) were significantly higher than those of the sixth grade students (3.46/3.59) (P<0.01). Food waste education made a significant impact on the perception and attitude on food waste (p<0.01). When dislike food was supplied the students having the higher perception and attitude towards food waste reduction ate it more than those having the lower perception and attitude. The major reason for plate waste was shown to be influenced by the taste and amount of foods supplied in school lunch programs. Most of students recognized that food waste pollution (4.22) was one of the severest problems among the environmental pollutions, followed by air (4.13), tap water (4.09) soil (3.78), noise (3.55) pollution. The students separated the garbage in the house (72.6%) better than in school and the outside (55.2%). The perception of food waste was positively correlated with the attitude toward reduction of food waste and the recognition of environmental pollution (p<0.01). The attitude toward reduction of food waste was also positively correlated with meal quantity taken (p<0.01).

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.46-53
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• 2009

Urbanization brings several changes to the natural environment. Its consequences can have a direct effect on climatic features, as in the Urban Heat Island Effect. One factor that directly affects the urban climate is the green area. In urban areas, vegetation is suppressed in order to accommodate manmade buildings and streets. In this paper we analyze the effect of green areas on the urban temperature in Seoul. The period selected for analysis was July 30th, 2007. The ground temperature was measured using Landsat TM satellite imagery. Land cover was calculated in terms of city area, water, bare soil, wet lands, grass lands, forest, and farmland. We extracted the surface temperature using the Linear Regression Model. Then, we did a regression analysis between air temperature at the Automatic Weather Station and surface temperature. Finally, we calculated the temperature decrease area and the population benefits from the green areas. Consequently, we determined that a green area with a radius of 500m will have a temperature reduction area of $67.33km^2$, in terms of urban area. This is 11.12% of Seoul's metropolitan area and 18.09% of the Seoul urban area. We can assume that about 1,892,000 people would be affected by this green area's temperature reduction. Also, we randomly chose 50 places to analysis a cross section of temperature reduction area. Temperature differences between the boundaries of green and urban areas are an average of $0.78^{\circ}C$. The highest temperature difference is $1.7^{\circ}C$, and the lowest temperature difference is $0.3^{\circ}C$. This study has demonstrated that we can understand how green areas truly affect air temperature.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.4 s.50
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• pp.277-289
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• 2006

This study was carried out to find a new material having high removal efficiency for the harmful red tide. C. polykrikoides grow very fast and accumulate into dense and visible patches near the surface of the seawater ('Water bloom'). Some mineral medicines and Hwangto (reddish soil consist of clay minerals and Fe-oxides) were used in this study to remove C. polykrikoides. The pre-determined sprinkling ratio of mineral vs. seawater which contains approximately 5,000 cells/mL of C. polykrikoides was 10 g/L. In order to quantify the removal efficiency, the density of living cells was measured by counting with the Intervals of 0, 10, 30, and 60 minutes after sprinkling. Five Hwangtos feom different localities were examined in this study. It is found that a material with a high concentration of Fe and Al was the most effective to remove C. polykrikoides. After the sprinkling of the Hwangto showing the best removal efficiency in the test, 99% of total algaes were found to be eliminated within 60 minutes. Jeokeokji showed the highest removal efficiency among clay mineral medicines(92% removal efficiency after 60 minutes), and the rests in decreasing order are as follows: Gamto (91%) > Baekseokji (89%) > Hydromica (81%). In addition, Fe-oxide mineral medicine similarly looking as fine-grained earthy Daejaseok showed 100% removal efficiencyafter 30 minutes, and Wooyoeryang, 95% after 60 minutes. It is noted that even little addition (1 g/L) of Daejaseok, 10% of Hwangto concentration into seawater showed the removal efficiency of 100% after 60 minutes. From the results, it could be concluded that the fine-grained earthy Daejaseok was the most effective natural mineral medicine to remove the C. polykrikoides from seawater. Under the microscope the removal mechanism was found to be activated in the following order: adsorption, swelling of chain colony, chain colony crisis and algaecide.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.357-367
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• 2018

Recent earthquakes in Gyeongju and Pohang have raised interest in liquefaction in South Korea. Liquefaction, which is a phenomenon that excessive pore pressure is generated and the shear strength of soil is decreased by repeated loads such as earthquakes, causes severe problems such as ground subsidence and overturning of structures. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and prepare for the possibility of liquefaction in advance. In general, the possibility of liquefaction is quantitatively assessed using the Liquefaction Potential Index (LPI), but it takes a lot of time and effort for performing site response analysis which is essential for the liquefaction evaluation. In this study, a simple method to evaluate the liquefaction potential without executing the site response analysis in a downtown area with a lot of borehole data was proposed. In this simple method, the correlation between the average shear wave velocity of the target location ground and the LPI divided by thickness of liquefiable layer was established. And the applicable correlation equation for various rock outcrop accelerations were derived. Using the 104 boreholes information in Seoul, the correlation equation between LPI and the shear wave velocity (ground water level: 0m, 1m, 2m, 3m) is obtained and the possibility of liquefaction occurrence in Seoul and Gyeongju is evaluated. The applicability of the proposed simple method was verified by comparing the LPI values calculated from the correlation equation and the LPI values derived using the existing site response analysis. Finally, the distribution map of LPI calculated from the correlation was drawn using Kriging, a geostatistical technique.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.872-878
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• 2014

This study aimed to enhance storage and freshness of strawberry fruits and foliage vegetables by spray treatment with Chlorella vulgaris as a bio-fertilizer. The tested strain, C. vulgaris CHK0008, was isolated from an organically cultivated rice paddy and identified as C. vulgaris by its morphology and 18S rDNA and 23S rDNA sequence homology. We successfully cultured C. vulgaris CHK0008 in BG11 modified medium (BG11MM) and adjusted $2.15{\times}10^6cell/mL$ C. vulgaris CHK0008 to one OD value by measuring the optical density at 680 nm using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The soluble solid content of 'Seolhyang' and 'Yukbo' strawberry fruits treated by spray application with C. vulgaris CHK0008 was enhanced by 22.2% and 11.5% respectively, compared to untreated controls. Additionally, the decay rates of treated 'Seolhyang' and 'Yukbo' strawberry fruits decreased 63.8% and 74.4% respectively, compared to untreated control. Surface color changes and chlorosis of leaves in leaf vegetables such as lettuce, kale, red ornamental kale, white ornamental kale and beet were observed in samples treated with water spray for 10 days after cold storage. However, the decay rate of leafy vegetables treated with foliar application of 25% C. vulgaris CHK0008 liquid culture was significantly decreased compared to that of the untreated control during storage at $4^{\circ}C$.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.599-607
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• 2006

The experiments were carried out to develop simulation model for estimating the yield of soybean in upland and paddy field condition. Field experiments were done at National Institute of Crop Science in 2005. The evaluated soybean cultivars were Taekwangkong, Daewonkong, and Hwangkeumkong. Soybean seeds were planted by hill seeding with 3-4 seeds and row and hill spacing were $60{\times}10cm$ in upland and $60{\times}15cm$ in paddy field. Seeds were sown on row (without making ridge) and on the top of ridge in upland and paddy field, respectively. Field parameters were measured yield components ($plants/m^{2}$, pod no./plant, and 100-seed weight, seed yield and growth characteristics (stem length, leaf area at each stage, and dry weight of shoot) and after measuring they were compared the relationships with seed yield and yield components and seed yield and growth characteristics. Seed yield of soybean was affected by cultivars and planting density. Seed yield was higher in upland than paddy field due to the higher planting density in upland field. The upland soybeans generally had lower 100-seed weight than that of paddy field. Seed yield of soybean in a paddy field was greatest in Taekwangkong and followed by Daewonkong and Hwangkeumkong. The harvest index of taekwangkong and Hwanggumkong was higher in upland than paddy field, however, it was higher in paddy field than upland in Daewonkong. Seed yield was greatest in Daewonkong in both experimental fields. The greatest stem length was observed in taekwangkong and Hwanggumkong (R6) in late growth stage in paddy field. Dry weight of shoot and pod, pod number, stem length, and stem diameter were higher grown in paddy field than grown in upland. Crop growth rate (CGR) of cultivars was higher in paddy field after 8 WAS(weeks after sowing) and it was greatest at 13 WAS in Daewonkong among the cultivars. In upland field, CGR was greatest in Taekwangkong and then followed by Daewonkong and Hwanggumkong during 12 and 15 WAS. There was no significant relationships between 100-seed weight and seed yield in both experimental fields. A significant positive relationship was observed between seed number and seed yield. The correlation coefficients between leaf area and shoot dry weight were about 0.8 during the whole growth stage except 5 WAS and 4-5 WAS in paddy field and upland, respectively. This experiment was done just one year and drained paddy field condition was not satisfied drained condition successfully at 7th leaf age of soybean by the heavy rain, so we suggest that the excessive soil water reduced seed yield in paddy field and the weather condition should be considered for utilizing of these results.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 1996

Growth, nutrient uptake and photosynthesis as affected by submersion of shoot in pickerel weed (Monochoria vaginalis Presl.) were determined. The shoots of pickerel weeds in hydroponic culture were subjected to the submerged or emerged condition at 3- or 5-leaf stage for 8 or 10 days. Under submerged condition, growth in plant height was enhanced, but leaf number, leaf area, fresh and dry weight were reduced compared to those under the emerged condition. Similar responses in growth to submergence were obtained with the pickerel weeds rooted in the soil. Under submergence, chlorophyll content increased during the first 2 days, but thereafter remarkably decreased at 3-leaf stage and after the first 4 days at 5-leaf stage. Compared to the emerged condition, uptakes of $NH_4\;^+$-N, $NO_3\;^-$-N, $P_2O_5$ and $K^+$ were reduced, but uptakes of $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ increased under the submerged condition. Photosynthetic rate of shoot under water, measured by $CO_2$electrode, showed the maximum by 210 ${\mu}$moles $HCO_3\;^-$/g F.W. at the 8th day after submergence(DAS) at 3-leaf stage and 320 ${\mu}$moles $HCO_3\;^-$/g F. W. at 6 DAS at 5-leaf stage. These results indicate that pickerel weeds grow much better when the shoot is air-exposed and are less tolerable to submergence at 3 leaf-stage than at 5-leaf stage.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.651-660
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• 2007

Acid drainage has been recognized as an environmental concern in abandoned mine sites for long time. Recently, the environmental and structural damage by acid drainage is a current issue in construction sites in Korea. Here, the author introduces the type of damages by acid drainage in construction sites and emphasizes the importance of geoscience discipline in solving the problem. Metasedimentary rock of Okcheon group, coal bed of Pyeongan group, Mesozoic volcanic rock. and Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks are the major rock types with a high potential for acid drainage upon excavation in Korea. The acid drainage causes the acidification and heavy metal contamination of soil, surface water and groundwater, the reduction of slope stability, the corrosion of slope structure, the damage on plant growth, the damage on landscape and the deterioration of concrete and asphalt pavement. The countermeasure for acid drainage is the treatment of acid drainage and the prevention of acid drainage. The treatment of acid drainage can be classified into active and passive treatments depending on the degree of natural process in the treatment. Removal of oxidants, reduction of oxidant generation and encapsulation of sulfide are employed for the prevention of acid drainage generation.