• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1797-1802
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• 2014

Background: The prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) and phospholipase A2 group IIA (PLA2G2A) genes encode enzymes that are involved in arachidonic acid and prostaglandin biosynthesis. Dysregulation of both genes is associated with inflammation and carcinogenesis, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We therefore hypothesized that there is an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these genes and susceptibility to ESCC. Methods: We performed a gene-wide tag SNP-based association study to examine the association of SNPs in PTGS2 and PLA2G2A with ESCC in 269 patients and 269 healthy controls from Taihangshan Mountain, Henan and Hebei Provinces, the rural area of China which has the highest incidence of esophageal cancer in the world. Thirteen tag SNPs in PLA2G2A and 4 functional SNPs in PTGS2 were selected and genotyped using a high-throughput Mass Array genotyping platform. Results: We found a modest increased risk of ESCC in subjects with the PTGS2 rs12042763 AA genotype (OR=1.23; 95% CI, 1.00-3.04) compared with genotype GG. For PLA2G2A, a decreased risk of ESCC was observed in subjects with the rs11677 CT (OR=0.51, 95%CI, 0.29-0.85) or TT genotype (OR=0.51, 95%CI, 0.17-0.96) or the T carriers (CT+TT) (OR=0.52, 95%CI, 0.31-0.85) when compared with the CC genotype. Also for PLA2G2A, rs2236771 C allele carriers were more frequent in the control group (P=0.02). Subjects with the GC (OR=0.55, 95%CI, 0.33-0.93) or CC genotype (OR=0.38, 95% CI, 0.16-0.94) or the C carriers (GC+CC) (OR=0.52, 95%CI, 0.32-0.85) showed a negative association with ESCC susceptibility. Conclusions: Our results suggest that PTGS2 and PLA2G2A gene polymorphisms may modify the risk of ESCC development.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.17
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• pp.93-125
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• 2002

This paper aims to find a reasonable solvency margin system in non-life insurance industry and also to evaluate the appropriateness of the current solvency margin regulation system in Korea. The current solvency margin system in Korea, based on EU's solvency margin model, was introduced during the 1997 financial crisis. The solvency requirement is not based on non-life insurer's risk, but simply on written premiums. The current solvency margin for general insurance, such as fire, marine, and automobile insurance, is determined by the greater between a premium-based amount and a claim-based amount, where the premium-based solvency margin is calculated by multiplying the net written premium for the preceding year by the premium based solvency margin ratio. Also, the amount of solvency margin for long term insurance is set at 4% of the policy reserve of the long term insurance. Still, there exist many differences between the current solvency margin regulation system in Korea and EU's model. This paper focuses on the rationality of the solvency margin regulation system, and compares the current system in Korea with EU's model and the RBC(Risk Based Capital) system in U.S. and Japan. Finally, this paper suggests a more specific and reasonable solvency margin system to be developed in Korea.

• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.49-68
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• 2017

Platform finance is emerging as an alternative finance for SMEs by suggesting a new funding source based on a new technology named FinTech. The essence of this business is the adapting ICT challenges to the financial industry that can adequately reflect risk assessment using Big Data and effectively meet individual risk-return preference. Thus, this is evolving as an alternative to existing finance in the form of P2P loans for Micro Enterprises and supply-chain finance for SMEs that need more working capital. Platform finance in Korea, however, is still at an infant stage and requires policy support. This can be summarized as follows: "Participation of institutional investors and the public sector," meaning that public investors provide seed money for the private investors to crowd in for platform finance. "Negative system in financial regulations," with current regulations to be deferred for new projects, such as Sandbox in the UK. In addition, "Environment for generous use of data," allowing discretionary data sharing for new products," and "Spreading alternative investments," fostering platform finance products as alternative investments in the low interest-rate era.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1-18
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• 2019

Venture capitalists (VCs) play an important role in finding and growing innovative venture companies with high growth potential but high risk. Venture capital investment does not depend on the system, unlike the investment for listed companies. Korea's venture capital industry has entered a period of growth, but lack of data has led to a lack of research on venture capital. Based on this background, this study attempts to analyze various factors affecting investment decision criteria of Korea VCs. In this study, I examined the major factors that VCs consider in decision making of investment through literature review, and I have drawn the research question accordingly. I will focus on the characteristics of founders, products / services, markets, financials, and networks that scholars share common investment decision criteria in Korean VCs. For the purpose of this study, the data were collected through the questionnaire surveyed by investment vetters working in current venture capital and analyzed using AHP analysis. Through this study, I tried to understand the Korean venture capital which has been poorly studied and what criteria and priorities Korean VCs make investment decisions in the Korean venture investment environment. The results of this research will contribute to the vitalization of venture investment, which is important for the upbringing of companies, by providing guidelines for establishing investment attraction strategies of venture companies.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.113-153
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• 2009

Financial conglomerates combine banking, securities, insurance and other financial services within a single economic entity. In this paper we analyze the effect of financial conglomeration on the default risk of financial companies in the Korean financial industry. We use two risk measures based on individual company level as proxies of the default risk, one is Z-index proposed by Altman(1968) and the other is the weighted capital adequacy ratio. We find that financial conglomeration has a negative effect on the default risk of financial companies. The asset size and diversity level of financial conglomerates, however, are negatively correlated with the default risk of financial companies. These results mean that in the Korean financial industry, even though the economy of scale and scope does exist, financial conglomeration does not translate into lower risk of financial companies composing financial conglomerates.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3361-3366
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• 2012

Background & Objectives: The most northern and northwestern regions of Iran are at a high risk for gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the general population's awareness about risk factors, symptoms and signs, preventive methods and management of gastric carcinoma in a high prevalence city in the North of Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based telephone survey which was conducted on 3,457 residents of Rasht, the capital city of Guilan Province, to assess their awareness regarding gastric carcinoma. The questionnaires contained demographic data and statements on respondents' knowledge about risk factors, symptoms and signs, prevention and management of gastric cancer which were filled by general practitioners after asking the subjects. Data were analyzed in SPSS14. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean knowledge score of the respondents was $5.05{\pm}1.37$ regarding risk factors of gastric carcinoma, $4.39{\pm}1.99$ regarding symptoms and signs, $6.0{\pm}1.22$ regarding preventive strategies, and $1.6{\pm}1.16$ regarding management. Totally the mean knowledge level of the respondents toward gastric carcinoma would be $17.1{\pm}3.97$ from the maximum grade of 29. The age group of 45-55 y/o, bachelor degree and higher, physicians and nurses, those who had cancer history in friends or had the history of gastrointestinal diseases showed significantly higher knowledge scores (P=0.001). Conclusion: There is a general lack of awareness of cancer risk factors, symptoms and signs, methods of prevention, and importance of early diagnosis and treatment. Educational programs should be developed to promote adherence to recommended screening guidelines.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.5 no.2 s.18
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• pp.144-152
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• 2004

Defining value as a measure of how well the project value objectives are met, Value Management Process (VMP) is considered to be any management effort or process that can proactively pursue one or more project objectives (i.e., security/safety, cost effectiveness, schedule optimization, and risk containment). The collection of 44 VMPs has been established based on a rigorous effort conducted by Construction Industry Institute (CII). Because varying circumstances on each project determine the level of suitability, it is crucial to identify which VMP should be implemented on a particular project. The current VMP selection process is primarily based on human intuition. The main objective of this paper is to provide a systematic method to facilitate the usage of VMPs on a particular project. This paper identified and quantified the selection principles (i.e., targeted value objectives, timing of initiation, project characteristics, and relative impact). The data collected from industry practitioners and VMP experts characterized each VMP in terms of the magnitude of benefit. An automated selection tool by Visual Basic Application (VBA) on MS Excel TM, was developed and proved its validity. As a pioneering study, this paper provides a comprehensive and structured knowledge on the subject of VMPs. From the industry's perspective, the automated selection tool, the premier of this study, contributes the facilitation of the VMP implementations in the construction industry thereby maximizing the potential benefits to a particular project.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.10
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• pp.147-158
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• 2021

Due to COVID-19, the risk of price volatility in commodity and equity markets increases. The research and application of hedging is the most effective way to reduce the market risk. Hedging is a risk management strategy employed to offset losses in investments by taking an opposite position in a related asset. We use K-means and hierarchical clustering methods to cluster companies and futures products respectively, and analyze the relationship between the number of hedging firms, regional distribution, nature of firms, capital distribution, company size, profitability, number of local Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs), regional location, and listing time. The study shows that listed companies with large scale and good profitability invest more money in hedging, while state-owned enterprises' participation in hedging is more likely to be affected by the company size and the number of local futures commission merchants, and private enterprises are more likely to be affected by the company profitability and the regional location. Listed companies are more willing to choose long-listed and mature futures products for hedging. We also provide policy advice based on our conclusion. So far, there is no study on the characteristics of hedging. This paper fills the gap. The results provide a basis and guidance for people's investment and risk management. Using clustering analysis in hedging study is another innovation of this paper.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.1507-1520
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• 2014

In this paper, we show that there is a positive correlation between the level and the volatility of interest rate and thus suggest that a proper interest rate volatility coefficient (IRVC), a factor used in evaluating the interest rate risk that insurers are exposed to, should be chosen in accordance with the level of interest rate. To this end, we calculate the historical volatility of interest rate using data on government bond yields and show a proportionate relationship between interest rate and historical volatility. The review of exponential Vasicek (EV) and Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) models for interest rate also confirms the positive correlation between them. The estimation of IRVC by EV and CIR models are 0.9 and 1.1, respectively, which are much smaller than the one under the current risk-based capital (RBC) requirement. We provide modified IRVCs reflecting the level of interest by the two interest rate models. Using modified IRVCs can be a more reasonable method to evaluate the interest rate risk that insurers face.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.83-91
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• 2009

Construction industry is a complex industry which should be invested with plenty capital, manpower and resources. Investment factors and inner and outer environmental factors should be managed systemically in terms with risk factors possible to occur. It maximizes the profit to establish construction management by managing risk systemically. While previous studies were executed with risk related to some special progress lively, studies about risk in managing construction company leave much to be desired. Therefore, this study examined risk in the whole construction management, showed the checklist and deduced the quantitative factors through questionnaire analysis from specialists. Also, priority and grade of construction management factors were evaluated by analyzing weight of construction risk factors.