The Constitutional Court of Korea, which should be a product of the June Democracy Movement in 1987, has transformed Korea's constitutionalism ever since its inception. The recent two impeachment cases decided respectively in 2004 against President Roh and in 2017 against President Park might be classic examples of how the state institutions including the Court interact with other institutions in a very political case in terms of political dynamics. In the impeachment case against President Roh, the Court positioned itself strategically by establishing the 'grave violation of law' rationale, where it sided with the impeaching parliament by finding three counts of violations of law but dismissed the case in its entirety through the operation of the 'grave violation of law'. In the impeachment case against President Park, the Court basically followed the grave violation logic but reached a different conclusion to remove the President, which might be another strategic position taken by the Court, which is in line with the will of the super-majority of the Korean public. This paper aims to discuss how the Constitutional Court has developed its strategic position in terms of political dynamics, by analyzing the two presidential impeachment cases.
Kim JW, Choi YJ. Feminisation of poverty in 12 welfare states: consolidating cross‐regime variations?According to some theorists, the feminisation of poverty has become a common feature in the majority of advanced welfare states, but there have been very few attempts to provide a detailed picture from a comparative perspective. Considering this background, the aim of present study was to illuminate the feminisation of poverty in 12 welfare states between the 1980s and the 2000s and to analyse whether there has been any convergence or divergence between these welfare states. The scope and depth of the feminisation of poverty and the changing role of welfare states were assessed via an analysis of the antipoverty role of public transfers in each country. Using the Luxembourg Income Study dataset, this article argues that while the feminisation of poverty has been slowed down and even reversed in certain cases, cross‐regime differences have become increasingly visible.
The feminisation of poverty is said to have become a common feature in the majority of advanced welfare states, but it is equally true that there has been significant variation in the feminisation of poverty from one country to another. While the concept of the feminisation of poverty remains controversial, there have been very few attempts to reveal a detailed picture from a comparative perspective. Considering this background, this study aims to illustrate the feminisation of poverty in 12 welfare states (Liberal - Australia, Canada, UK, US; Conservative - Austria, France, Germany, Italy; Nordic - Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) between the 1980s and the 2000s and to analyse whether or not there has been any convergence or divergence between these welfare states. This study will evaluate the scope and depth of the feminisation of poverty by conducting analyses not only in terms of different sex, but in terms of different population groups. Further, the changing role of welfare states will be assessed via an analysis of the antipoverty role of public transfers in each country. The Luxemburg Income Study dataset will be used for empirical analysis. This paper will argue that while the feminisation of poverty has been slowed down and even reversed in certain cases, cross-national differences have been increasingly visible. The results of this study also show that the welfare regime framework can prove to be a useful tool for understanding the similarities and the differences in the feminisation of poverty across different Western welfare state regimes.
An increasing number of policy learning studies have provided practical suggestions for the direction of welfare developments and reforms in East Asia. However, these have been carried out without a solid theoretical basis. This article aims to analyse the issues of existing policy learning research and explore the connecting point between welfare regime research and policy learning, specifically taking the Korean case as an example. The article will argue that welfare regime research can be a useful vehicle for making policy learning studies more effective and feasible by identifying key contexts, locating a policy within a welfare regime, and reducing possible policy options.
The role of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is being questioned in alcoholic cirrhosis because of the relative low HCC risk. This study aimed to assess the risk and predictors of HCC in Korean patients with alcoholic cirrhosis by using competing risk analysis. A total of 745 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were recruited at a university-affiliated hospital in Korea and randomly assigned to either the derivation (n = 507) and validation (n = 238) cohort. Subdistribution hazards model of Fine and Gray was used with deaths and liver transplantation treated as competing risks. Death records were confirmed from Korean government databases. A nomogram was developed to calculate the Alcohol-associated Liver Cancer Estimation (ALICE) score. The cumulative incidence of HCC was 15.3 and 13.3% at 10 years for derivation and validation cohort, respectively. Age, alpha-fetoprotein level, and albumin level were identified as independent predictors of HCC and incorporated in the ALICE score, which discriminated low, intermediate, and high risk for HCC in alcoholic cirrhosis at the cut-off of 60 and 100. The risk of HCC can be stratified by using a combination of readily available clinical parameters (age, AFP level, and albumin level) in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.
Purpose: To analyze the long-term outcomes of patients with typical trigeminal neuralgia treated with gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS). Patients and Methods: A total of 62 consecutive patients with typical trigeminal neuralgia were treated with GKRS between 1998 and 2004. Of the 62 patients, 2 were lost to follow-up; the remaining 60 patients were followed for >12 months. The mean prescribed maximal dose was 79.7 Gy (range, 75-80), using a 4-mm shot. Results: Of the 60 patients, 48 were followed for >4 years. An additional 3 patients, followed for 70 years correlated with a favorable outcome in terms of pain recurrence after radiosurgery (hazard ratio, 0.125; 95% confidence interval, 0.016-0.975; p = .047) on multivariate analysis. Conclusion: GKRS seems to be an effective treatment modality for patients with typical trigeminal neuralgia considering the initial response rate; however, fewer than one-half of patients might continue to benefit from GKRS after long-term follow-up. Elderly patients might be good candidates for radiosurgery considering the long-term durability of efficacy. ; Supported by Nuclear Research & Development Program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korean government (MEST) (grant code: M20090078163); the statistical analysis was supported by the Medical Research Collaborating Center, Seoul National University Hospital. ; Guo S, 2008, STEREOT FUNCT NEUROS, V86, P135, DOI 10.1159/000120425 ; Sindou M, 2006, ACTA NEUROCHIR, V148, P1235, DOI 10.1007/s00701-006-0809-2 ; Urgosik D, 2005, J NEUROSURG, V102, P29 ; LIM M, 2005, NEUROSURG FOCUS, V18, pE9 ; Lopez BC, 2004, J NEUROL NEUROSUR PS, V75, P1019, DOI 10.1136/jnnp.2003.018564 ; Brisman R, 2004, J NEUROSURG, V100, P848 ; Kubicek GJ, 2004, STEREOT FUNCT NEUROS, V82, P244, DOI 10.1159/000083176 ; Petit JH, 2003, INT J RADIAT ONCOL, V56, P1147, DOI 10.1016/S0360-3016(03)00264-5 ; Rogers CL, 2002, J NEUROSURG, V97, P529 ; Pollock BE, 2002, J NEUROSURG, V97, P347 ; Tyler-Kabara EC, 2002, J NEUROSURG, V96, P527 ; Flickinger JC, 2001, INT J RADIAT ONCOL, V51, P449 ; Maesawa S, 2001, J NEUROSURG, V94, P14 ; Brisman R, 2000, J NEUROSURG, V93, P159 ; Nicol B, 2000, J NEUROSURG, V93, P152 ; Rogers CL, 2000, INT J RADIAT ONCOL, V47, P1013 ; LUNSFORD LD, 2000, SURG NEUROL, V54, P285 ; Regis J, 1999, NEUROSURG CLIN N AM, V10, P359 ; Young RF, 1998, STEREOT FUNCT NEUROS, V70, P192 ; Urgosik D, 1998, STEREOT FUNCT NEUROS, V70, P200 ; Lee KH, 1997, STEREOT FUNCT NEUROS, V68, P196 ; Kondziolka D, 1996, J NEUROSURG, V84, P940 ; Barker FG, 1996, NEW ENGL J MED, V334, P1077 ; ZAKRZEWSKA JM, 1993, ACTA NEUROCHIR, V122, P225 ; BROGGI G, 1990, NEUROSURGERY, V26, P783 ; VANLOVEREN H, 1982, J NEUROSURG, V57, P757 ; MENZEL J, 1975, J NEUROSURG, V42, P140 ; LEKSELL L, 1951, ACTA CHIR SCAND, V102, P316 ; 12
