• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.163-173
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• 2022

Research and development of biofuels as one of the means to mitigate global warming and to avoid fossil fuel depletion has occurred for more than 30 years. However, there has only been limited distribution of a few first- and second-generation biofuels, and widespread supply and consumption of biofuels is still far from a reality. Although a relatively recently studied third-generation biofuel derived from seaweed biomass has been shown to have many advantages, it is yet to be deployed in commercial-scale seaweed biorefineries. This review paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of seaweed biorefineries for the entire value chain covering from seaweed and its cultivation to biofuel production based on an extensive literature search and the author's experience of conducting feasibility studies pertaining to seaweed biorefineries for over 10 years. For this purpose, the literature survey will cover the current status of seaweed production and its research and development worldwide, conversion technologies for biofuel production from seaweed based on bench-scale experiments, and large-scale techno-economic feasibility studies for seaweed conversion to biofuels and bioenergy. In addition, the main problems expected with the commercialization of seaweed-based biofuels will be identified. Finally, the current status of seaweed biorefinery technology and the author's views on its promising future will be summarized.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.307-315
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• 2022

Artemisinin is a secondary metabolite of Artemisia annua that shows potent anti-malarial, anti-bacterial, antiviral, and anti-tumor effects. The supply of artemisinin depends on its content in Artemisia annua, in which various environmental factors can affect the plant's biosynthetic yield. In this study, the effects of different light-emitting diode (LED)-irradiation conditions were tested to optimize the germination and growth of Artemisia annua for the enhanced production of artemisinin. Specifically, the ratio between the red and blue lights in the irradiating LED was varied for investigation as follows: [Red : Blue] = [6 : 4], [7 : 3], and [8 : 2]. Furthermore, additional stress factors like UV-B-irradiation (1,395 ㎼/cm²), low temperature (4℃), and dehydration were also explored to induce hormetic expressions of ADS, CYP, and ALDH1, which are essential genes for the biosynthesis of artemisinin. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to analyze the expression levels of the respective genes and their correlation with the specified conditions. [8 : 2] LED-irradiation was the most optimal among the tested conditions for the cultivation of Artemisia annua in terms of both fresh and dry weights post-harvest. For the production of artemisinin, however, [7 : 3] LED-irradiation with dehydration for six hours pre-harvest was the most optimal condition by inducing around twofold enhancement in the biosynthetic yield of artemisinin. As expected, a correlation was observed between the expression levels of the genes and the contents of artemisinin accumulated.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.87-106
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• 2022

Uncertainties in the energy market are increasing due to technology developments (shale revolution), trade wars, COVID-19, and the Russia-Ukraine war. Especially, since 2020, the risk of international trade in the energy market has increased significantly due to changes in the supply chain of transportation and due to prolonged demand reduction because of COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war. Considering these points, this study analyzed connectedness between energy price, tanker index, and uncertainty to understand the connectedness between international trade in the energy market. Main results are summarized as follows. First, as a result of analyzing stable period and unstable period of the energy price model using the MS-VAR model, it was confirmed that both the crude oil market model and the natural gas market model had a higher probability of maintaining stable period than unstable period, increasing volatility by specific events. Second, looking at the results of the analysis of the connectedness between stable period and unstable period of the energy market, it was confirmed that in the case of total connectedness, connectedness between variables was increased in the unstable period compared to the stable period. In the case of the energy market stable period, considering the degree of connectedness, it was confirmed that the effect of the tanker freight index, which represents the demand-side factor, was significant. Third, unstable period of the natural gas market model increases rapidly compared to the crude oil market model, indicating that the volatility spillover effect of the natural gas market is greater when uncertainties affecting energy prices increase compared to the crude oil market.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.69-97
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• 2017

This study purpose to examine the importer's risks that may arise from origin investigation by Customs authorities. We have drawn the important factors affecting the application of FTA preferential tariffs and divided the stages from the conclusion of the contract for the importer to the undergoing origin investigation. In addition, we demonstrate empirically that the risks that arise in areas where importers are difficult to control exist. As a management method of the uncontrollable risk from the importer, we have provided the methods that the seller stipulated the seller's responsibility in the trade contract, prepared for situations in which no one was responsible, and formulated a friendly and cooperative supply chain. Even if the seller's liability is clarified in the contract for sale, the risk of the investigation into the origin of the imported goods is not completely eliminated. This is because, under the current agreement and system, there is no way for the customs authority of the contracting party of the FTA to claim compensation for damages incurred by importers due to breach of agreement such as not returning the result of the origin verification. Importers are subject to customs duties, but there may actually be situations in which no one is responsible for them.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.131-155
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• 2016

Recently, the global trade environment has been composed of transactions in trade through integration of the global supply chain network. As FTAs are being signed between countries, the country of origin (COO) system on products has become an important issue. Companies are procuring raw materials through global sourcing and supplying to the retail markets. This research deducted major factors regarding the verification and utilization of the COO system through research on domestic and international literatures, and verified the mediating effects on the verification and utilization elements of the country image and the brand image of COO on the performance of the COO system through empirical study. For the purpose of this research, we conducted a survey implementing the COO system and analyzed the 152 data collected. The results of this research is as follows: First, the external verification level of the COO system has an impact on the performance of the COO system, and a mediating effect on the country image and the brand image of the COO. Second, the management capability of the COO has an impact on the performance of the COO system, and a mediating effect on the brand image of the COO. A research comparing and analyzing the difference in establishment of the verification system of the COO depending on the size of a corporation is necessary.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.283-301
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• 2017

As a consequence of the changed role and functions in port operations, the role of port hinterland has transformed to multi-functional logistic centre linking more efficiently elements of the supply chain. This paper analysed distribution centre selection factors in Busan new port hinterland, aiming to diagnose and evaluate the operational situations of port hinterland as multi-functional logistics centre. Based on a data collected from all 122 samples located in Busan new port hinterland, determinants for location competitiveness identified were: political support, market potentiality, infrastructure utilization, market niche, and connectivity. Comparing the difference between an importance and performance, it is revealed that the target port hinterland requires urgent improvement in political supports such as incentive programmes offered by host country, free trade system and related law, financial assistance in constructing distribution centers, and simplicity, ease and efficiency of administrative procedures. The results provide useful insights for establishing future improvement strategies and a strategic agenda to successfully respond to the demands of the companies located in port hinterlands and/or new customers those who want to move in.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.148-149
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• 2021

Food waste has increasingly become a global issue of concern among the researchers and policymakers due to its significant environmental and economic impacts, and other associated unsustainable use of resources, including water resources. While food wastage occurs at each stage of the supply chain with food loss at the upstream and food waste at the downstream, the impacts of food waste occurring at the consumption side are enormous due to the accumulated added values. In this study, the embedded water resources, greenhouse gas emissions, and economic loss of household food waste were investigated. The primary granular data of household food waste was collected through direct sampling from 218 selected households of the Buk-gu community in Daegu, South Korea from July 2019 to May 2020. The water footprint, which was based on the water footprint concept, i.e., indirect water use, and GHG emission potential factor for each of the food items were adopted from the literature, while the retail prices and disposal cost were used to assess the economic cost of wasted food items. The water footprint, GHG emission associated with environmental impacts, and the economic cost of 42 major identified wasted food items were conducted. The findings showed that an average of 0.73 ± 0.06 kg/household/day edible food waste was generated among the sampled households, with leafy vegetable, watermelon, and rice responsible for 10, 9, and 4%, respectively, of the total weight of the 42 food wasted items. The water footprint and environmental impact of the household food waste resulted in 0.46 ± 0.04 m³ and 0.71±0.05 kg CO2eq, respectively. Beef, pork, poultry, and rice accounted for 52, 9, 5, and 4% of the total water footprint, while beef, pork, rice, tofu/cheese had 52, 8, 6, and 6% of the total emissions, respectively, embedded in the food wasted. Furthermore, the average estimated economic cost associated with wasted food items was 3855.93±527.27 Korean won, with beef, fish, and leafy vegetable responsible for 21, 13, and 10%, respectively, of the total economic cost. A combined assessment using water-environmental-economic nexus indicated that animal-based food had the highest footprint impacts, with beef, pork, and poultry indicating high indices of 0.3, 0.08, and 0.06 respectively, on a scale of 0 to 1, compared to corn and lettuce with lowest impacts of 0.02. Other food items had moderate impact values ranging from 0.03 to 0.05. This study, therefore, provides insight into the enormity of environmental and economic implications of household food waste among Korean households.

• The Journal of Bigdata
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.151-159
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• 2021

Construction of a blockchain network needs a cumbersome and time consuming activity. To overcome these limitations, global IT companies such as Microsoft are providing cloud-based blockchain services. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based construction and management tool that enables blockchain developers, blockchain operators, and enterprises to deploy blockchain more comfortably in their infrastructure. This tool is implemented using Hyperledger Fabric, one of the famous private blockchain platforms, and Ansible, an open-source IT automation engine that supports network-wide deployment. Instead of complex and repetitive text commands, the tool provides a user-friendly web dashboard interface that allows users to seamlessly set up, deploy and interact with a blockchain network. With this proposed solution, blockchain developers, operators, and blockchain researchers can more easily build blockchain infrastructure, saving time and cost. To verify the usefulness and convenience of the proposed tool, a blockchain network that conducts electronic voting was built and tested. The construction of a blockchain network, which consists of writing more than 10 setting files and executing commands over hundreds of lines, can be replaced with simple input and click operations in the graphical user interface, saving user convenience and time. The proposed blockchain tool will be used to build trust data infrastructure in various fields such as food safety supply chain construction in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of International Agriculture
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.497-502
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• 2011

Broccoli is considered as one of the functional foods to offer a hearty supply of the nutrient-rich vegetable in the world. Broccoli contains high level of phytochemicals, and that is selected as one of the top 10 vegetables for human health promotion. Especially, glucosinolates and flavonoids are well known as anti free oxygen radicals in vegetables and fruits. In Korea, broccoli consumption has increased to well known on the health-beneficial vegetables since 2000. However, broccoli has many problems of postharvest management since the quality of harvested heads quickly declines. Major problems are the floret yellowing, wilting, off-odor, and decay. The multiple postharvest applications improve broccoli quality and cold treatment including pre-cooling extends on the shelf-life with circumstance of optimum storage which is 0℃ temperature and a range of 95-100% relative humidity. Controlled atmosphere or modified atmosphere packaging can be used as supplemental treatments to extend postharvest life. 1-2% O₂ + 5-10% CO₂ is currently recommended for broccoli. Postharvest management is important for broccoli because price fluctuations depend on harvest time and quality. In this study, we tried to review physiological change of broccoli after the harvest, storage method, and various techniques to optimize quality during distribution.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.250-251
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• 2023

The pallet, typically a form of tertiary packaging, is a flat structure used as a base for the unitization of goods in the supply chain. In addition, standard pallets such as T-11 and T-12 are used throughout the logistics industry to reduce the cost and enhance the efficiency of transportation. However, in the case of special cargo, it is impossible to handle such cargo using a standard pallet due to its size and weight, so many have developed and are now using their customized pallet. Therefore, this study suggests a pallet size optimization method to calculate the optimal pallet size, which minimizes the loss of space on a pallet. The main input features are the specifications and the storage quantity of each cargo, and the optimization method that has modified the Neighborhood Search Algorithm calculates the optimal pallet size. In order to verify the optimality of the developed algorithm, a comparative analysis has been conducted through simulation.