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Publicly Noticed Value(PNV) of property is used to calculate tax base of property asset in inheritance tax and gift tax in Korea. The current ratios of PNV to actual sales price are 68.1% for communal houses, 53.0% for detached houses, and 64.8% for land. This is one of the causes of low tax revenue of inheritance and gift tax which is 2.1% of the total tax revenue given the high ratio of property asset to GDP in Korea. This paper conducted simulation analyses with scenarios of the PNV ratio changes to 70~90% on inheritance and gift tax. The inheritance and gift tax increase by 23~116% and 18~90% respectively, while effective tax rate of inheritance and gift tax increase by 4.8~13.9% and 4.5~21%. More accurate assessment of PNV can contribute to increase inheritance and gift tax and eventually wealth re-distribution which is the main legislative intention of inheritance tax and gift tax.

This study investigates how the level and distribution of subjective happiness in Seoul has changed during the period from 2005 to 2019. In the first half of the period, happiness in Seoul increased markedly. This is because the happiness of the financial sector increased and the happiness of the less unhappier increased significantly compared to the more happier. During this period, happiness inequality and happiness poverty fell sharply. As happiness increased and became more equal, it could be said that socially desirable results were achieved. However in the second half, the poverty rate of happiness remained at a very low level, but the happiness of the more happier increased further, but the happiness did not increase in the less unhappier. The results of the empirical analysis in our study have implications for urban policies and can inform future research on the causes and consequences of happiness inequality in Seoul.

This study aims to statistically test the effect of subway accessibility on the formation and growth of employment subcenters in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) using the ‘jipgyegu’ dataset from the Korea Statistical Office. To this end, subway lines are divided into two types: lines built before 2000 (existing subway) and after 2000 (new subway). Subway catchment area is defined as the area within 600 meters of these subway stations. The analysis findings are summarized as follows. First, due to the expansion of the subway network over the 18 years, subway accessibility has significantly improved by about 40% for subcenters and 51% for non-employment centers. Second, both existing and new subway stations show similar gradients of employment density, especially within 600-800m, showing a tendency of firm location within subway catchment areas that can be accessed by foot. Third, the statistical analysis results show that the odds ratio of the existing subway catchment area to belong to the CBD and subcenters was 17.24 and 2.57, respectively, indicating that the existing subway catchment area made a contribution to the growth of the CBD and subcenter formation. On the other hand, the odds ratio of the new subway catchment area to belong to subcenters is about three times, implying that subway expansion has contributed to the formation and growth of the suburban subcenters.

Telecommuting, made possible by the development of information and communication technology, has been actively adopted in Europe and the United States. In the case of telecommuters, it has been reported that their home-to-work distance increases, and non-work activities are more likely to be pursued near home location. In Korea, after not being actively adopted for a long time regardless of the type of industry for a long time, telecommuting was widely implemented due to COVID-19, which provided an opportunity for individuals and companies to assess the possibility of telecommuting and identify the pros and cons. In this study, a wide range of questions including expected change in time use and intention for home relocation assuming telecommuting is adopted in a steady way is asked to those who have experienced telecommuting(1,072 persons) and those who have not(610 persons). Respondents who would consider home relocation were 656(39%), and the intention is significantly impacted by the importance of commuting in choosing the current home location and the difficulty of securing work space when working from home. Out of the 656 respondent who considered relocation, 550 respondents are positive about accepting increased commute time. Factors significantly impacting the intention included current commuting time, the importance of commuting and housing costs in the choice of current residence, and the importance of housing cost and natural environment in the choice of future residence. The result agreed with the patterns appeared in the existing studies conducted in countries where telecommuting is actively utilized. It also suggests that monitoring adoption of telecommuting is necessary to grasp the change in urban structure and travel behavior induced by telecommuting and have appropriate urban and transportation policies in place.

The Rosario plan(Transit-Oriented Development, TOD) in Seoul was proposed in the 1980s before the concept of TOD was implemented in the United States and Japan and was intended to solve complex urban problems through upzoning. Upzoning in the station’s sphere of influence has existed since the mid-1990s, yet upzoning has been contested in that critics claim it somewhat hindered new development. In Seoul, upzoning has been considered as the act of changing land into a commercial or semi-residential zone according to the urban master plan, while its purpose is to create a highly dense station’s sphere of influence by allowing a drastic FAR(Floor Area Ratio) change than in other areas. By performing a one-way ANOVA and regression analysis on the FAR and its rate of change, this paper concludes that the upzoned areas had a higher FAR and a higher rate of change than areas that have not been upzoned. This study empirically proved the effects of all of upzoning cases on the FAR in Seoul for the first time and confirmed the long-term effects of urban planning. It is expected that future studies can further advance the analysis of the real impacts on the “high-density complex in the station’s sphere of influence” - the purpose of the Rosario plan by performing an additional analysis including the “use” of buildings.

This study aims to execute a spatial analysis of the population distribution based on the world population grid and to derive the determinants of urban population. In addition, through the analysis results, the spatial aspect of urbanization was understood, and Korea's urban development cooperation business countries were derived. Spatial analysis of urbanization was performed using the Moran’s I, and double log model was used to derive the determinants of urban population. The main results of this study are as follows: First, it was found that the urbanization rate of each country is closely related to the GDP per capita and the Moran’s I. Second, since the Moran’I was found to be a significant factor in determining urban population, it is necessary to review the Moran’I as well as the urbanization rate when analyzing the spatial aspect of urbanization. Third, using the statistical analysis results, a total of 118 countries were grouped into 4 groups, and the possibility of urban development cooperation projects by group was presented. Finally, the understanding of the analysis result was improved by presenting the results of visualization of the spatial distribution of urban populations for some countries that are expected to cooperate with Korea.

This study analysed effects of media and SNS in policy PR activities of local governments by the survey of 126 public information officials in 31 counties of Gyeonggi-do. It attempted to find ways to increase effectiveness of policy PR activities. Public information officials recognized that SNS is better than traditional media news in terms of credibility, information transmission and influence. In actual promotional activities, SNS was used more than media news. It confirmed that the focus of major policy PR activities of local governments has moved from traditional media to SNS. Only credibility among three factors affected policy PR activities of media and SNS. And traditional media PR activities were more influenced by credibility than SNS PR activities. Furthermore, traditional media PR activities were more helpful in implementing the policy than SNS PR activities. This shows public information officials evaluate effectiveness of traditional media news much higher than SNS when it comes to promoting new policies. It implies that in order for local governments to promote their policies more effectively, they had better expand traditional media PR activities more than now, and traditional media should focus on enhancing its credibility.

The design hourly factor(K-value) is an important factor when designing highways. While prior research focused on identifying varying characteristics of K-values by road types, there has been a lack of studies that focused on those by regions. This may affect the road designing processes, leading to building excessive roads or building roads of which the capacity do not meet the daily traffic demands, case-by-case. This study analyzed hourly traffic data provided by TMS(Traffic Monitoring System) from the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Based on the dataset, the study identified K-values for roads located in Gangwon-do, and compared the K-values with national standards of K-values that are typically adopted in South Korea. As a result, it was found that the Yeongdong area has a relatively larger role as tourist roads than the Yeongseo area. That is, in the administrative district of Gangwon-Do, the four-lane national highways near the Taebaek Mountains can be characterized as tourist roads other than those in the Yeongseo area. Meanwhile, the two-lane national highways can be characterized as tourist roads in the Yeongdong area other than those in the Yeongseo area and Yeongseo(Taesan) area. The results of this study suggest that comprehensive guidelines for tailored K-values considering regional characteristics need to be further analyzed. This study’s outcomes will help to improve the road designing processes for constructing cost/effective highways. Research efforts from local research institutes and academia are also needed, and these efforts will have to meet the varied needs from citizens residing in different regions.

Recently, the Korean government announced a strategy for advancing future car technology and preoccupying the market. The strategy includes an active deployment of electric vechicle(EV) charging infrastructure where the role of the public is the most important. To achieve efficiency of the deployment, close estimation of the actual demand for charging electric vehicles in both temporal and spatial dimensions is very important. To respond to these policy demands, this study aims to derive a deep understanding of the spatial distribution of charging demand over time as well as policy measures for charging infrastructure based on it. A spatial model is developed using machine learning algorithm and used to forecast the spatial distribution of EV ownership between 2025 and 2035. Overall EV charging demand is estimated based on the spatial distribution of EV ownership and their trips, and the amount of charging infrastructure needed to be installed is also estimated by type and by municipality reflecting the preference of the current EV users. In particular, the estimated charging demand was high within Seoul and in other metropolitan areas for daytime work or visiting places, while the demand for residential-based slow charging was higher in suburban cities. Preferred types of charging infrastructure also differ depending on their activity characteristics and places.

The transition to clean energy is gaining speed amid growing concern about climate change. However, far too little attention has been paid to the effect of energy transition on local economies and local communities. This study aimed to seek the ways of mitigating inequitable effects potentially caused during the coal-phase out policy implementation. To fulfil the objective, this research analyzed the process of Just transition in Chungcheongnam-do by comparing it with North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The outcomes revealed that not only is an institutional framework not properly established, but Just transition fund is also insufficient to complete all the processes involved in the transition and to meet the demands of stakeholders. More in-depth public debates and practical measures that go beyond declaratory provision are urgently required. This study presented theoretical and practical implications by expanding the scope of existing discussions and suggesting a direction for a Just transition in Chungcheongnam-do.