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Publication Ethics

The Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) adheres to the ethical guidelines for journal publications put forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), viewable on the COPE website.

How to raise a concern: Anyone who believes that research published in a Korea Policy journal has not been carried out in line with these principles should raise their concerns with the journal’s editorial staff via email at sg@keia.org.

Authorship

The corresponding author is responsible for the appropriateness and completeness of the authorship list, appropriate credit attribution, and agreement of all authors to the journal’s open access and ethics policies. We follow the guidelines set out by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) to assign author contributions. Under these guidelines, qualifying criteria for authorship includes:

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and/or
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and/or
  • Final approval of the version to be published; and
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

The corresponding author is responsible for declaring these contributions.

Originality

All articles published in Korea Policy must represent original work. While under consideration for Korea Policy, they cannot be submitted for publication elsewhere.

Research Transparency and Reproducibility

Korea Policy believes in the importance of transparent and reproducible research. Authors must follow best practices in reporting their methodology, including descriptions of study design, sources used, and selection procedures employed. It is expected that authors cite all data and materials used in their research for editorial staff and others to ensure the accuracy and reproducibility of the research.

Korea Policy adheres closely to the COPE guidelines for reproducibility. Any errors discovered after publication may entail a retraction, corrigendum, or expression of concern. As such, authors should carefully consider the reproducibility and reliability of their work prior to submission.

Plagiarism and Research Fraud

A determination of plagiarism or fabrication by the journal will require contacting the corresponding author’s institution and possibly funding agencies. If plagiarism or fabrication is determined post-publication, the journal will investigate potential courses of action, up to and including formal retraction of the article.

Retraction Statement

Journal editors will consider retraction if an article is determined to have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct or honest error. A Notice of Retraction will be attached to the digital page of the journal on the KEI website and to bibliographic databases featuring the article. For more details, please see the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Post-publication corrections

Korea Policy adheres to the COPE guidelines for post-publication corrections as outlined in the “Post-publication discussions and corrections” section of the COPE website.

Use of AI

Korea Policy does not allow artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT or other large language models (LLMs) to be listed as authors of our publications.

Korea Policy authors must represent to readers that their work is original as well as responsible and scholarly in its use of material created by others. Korea Policy will not accept manuscripts in which AI tools were used to produce text or images/graphics, or to collect data. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscripts, including any portions produced by AI tools, and are liable for any ethical breaches that may result from the use of such content.

Conflicts of Interest

When an author or the institution of the author has a relationship, financial or otherwise, with individuals or organizations that could influence the author’s work inappropriately, a conflict of interest may exist. Perceptions of conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest.

Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal and the authors. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships or rivalries, academic competition, and intellectual beliefs. Authors should avoid entering into agreements with study sponsors, both for-profit and non-profit, that interfere with authors’ access to all of the study’s data or that interfere with their ability to analyze and interpret the data and to prepare and publish manuscripts independently when and where they choose.