• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.301-319
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• 2019

This study is to review the Joseon government's attempt to recover the tariff autonomy lost in the course of entering into the unequal treaty with then-Japan government, as well as the practical effort to realize such an attempt. Among other attempts, the Joseon government ① began imposing tariffs starting September 1878 by establishing Dumopo Customs Office in Busan, ② dispatched on April 1881 a group of investigators to the competent authorities to review and look back the Joseon's tariff system against Japan and ③ entered into a tariff negotiation with then-Japan government on September 1881 with the emissary (Susinsa) Byeong-ho Jo representing the Joseon government. A series of these attempts, in line with each other, represents the Joseon government's ceaseless, constant effort to recover the tariff autonomy, which is what this study intends to review from the modern-day perspectives. Authored by Byeong-ho Jo to capture an advantageous position in the 1881's tariff negotiation against then-Japan government, 「Joilseui」 successfully represented the Joseon government's position on matters of ① the Japanese tax-autonomous district in Korea, ② defining tariff rates, ③ use of Japanese Yen for payment of tariffs, ④ effective period of the treaty and ⑤ export restrictions on grains. Failure of the Joseon government's attempt to recover the Tariff autonomy was attributable not only to, as 「Joilseui」 defined, ① governments' non-cooperative attitudes on the negotiation table, ② lack of authorities that the entrusted bodies had, ③ import tariffs defined high and ④ export restrictions on grains and red ginseng, but also to loss of the tariff autonomy in 1876 and the 1881's negotiation broken down that were plotted by then-Japan government's invasive policy.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.21-41
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• 2022

The effect of change in exchange rates on an economy is very important, especially, to a small open economy like South Korea. I explore whether Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have positive influences on exchange rate-pass through import price of import market for fishery products in South Korea. Competition among FTA partners is enhanced after FTAs are effective. I expect that the extent to which are exchange rate pass-through (hereafter, ERPT) into import price of fishery products (in terms of Korea currency) would be reduced since the import market for fishery products in South Korea is an oligopolistic market. Specifically, I investigate two research questions with six South Korea's FTA partners-Norway, Thailand, Peru, U.S., China and Vietnam. First, whether the extent to which are exchange rate pass-through into import price of fishery products from six FTA partners would decrase in the post-FTA era; seconds, the size of reduction has a negative relation with the size of their market share in the import market for fishery products in South Korea if it decreases. The empirical results indicate that the degree of ERPT into import price from other FTA partners than Norway has been reduced after FTA, statistically and significantly; however, I do not find the evidence that the size of reduction is related to their market share. The findings in this study imply that FTAs have negative effects on producers' economic welfare in South Korea's fishery industry by reducing the extent to which are exchange rate pass-through as well as reducing tariff barriers.