Research and Publication Ethics

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1. Authorship

■ Author and Contributor Qualifications and Types

(1) Author qualifications should be conferred on the person(s) who has (have) made significant contributions to the work, such as ① academic conception and planning of the work, data collection, and data analysis or interpretation, ② drafting the paper or revising academically important contents of the paper, ③ reviewing the final manuscript of the paper to be published, or ④ agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Contributors who meet fewer than four of these criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors, but they should be acknowledged.

(2) When a master’s or doctoral dissertation, or a part of it is submitted to JKPA in its modified or revised form, this should be specified in the manuscript, and the first author of the manuscript should be the degree recipient.

(3) In the case of large-scale research involving researchers from multiple institutions, the organization must clearly state the author(s) who is (are) directly responsible for the contents of the paper.

(4) All persons designated as authors with their names stated on a paper should satisfy author qualifications. Research funding, data collection, or overall research supervision alone does not satisfy the requirements for authorship.

(5) Authors are classified into single author, first author, corresponding author, and co-authors.

(6) Single author refers to a case where there is only one author to the paper, and he/she becomes the main author and corresponding author simultaneously. When there are two or more authors to a paper (co-authors), the main author and the corresponding author may be distinguished.

(7) The main author should be limited to only one person who has made the largest contribution to the paper among the co-authors. The name of the main author should appear first in the list of author names.

(8) The corresponding author should be limited to one person obligated to answer paper-related questions or data requests. Furthermore, the corresponding author must provide the Editorial Board with information about any potential conflict of interest with any author(s) that may affect the review of the paper. If the corresponding author is not specified, the main author will be considered the corresponding author.

(9) In principle, authors cannot be added or deleted after publication is confirmed; the author types cannot be changed.

2. Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication

■ Academic Originality

(1) Authors submitting a paper to the Journal should respect the research achievements of others, and the submitted paper should secure academic originality differentiated from existing research outcomes including the author’s own research. The research should not duplicate others' work or make claims without proper acknowledgment.

■ Acknowledgement of Sources

(2) Authors must properly acknowledge any work of others that has been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Any work by others must be appropriately cited or quoted. Paraphrasing or direct quotation must be used when presenting the ideas and findings of others. Any information obtained privately through correspondence or through confidential means should not be used without explicit written permission from the source.

■ Fabrication and Falsification

(3) Fabrication or falsification encompasses the act of intentionally misrepresenting the truth, including data used in the research, results figures, and images as follows.

・Fabrication refers to the act of creating nonexistent data or research results.

・Falsification refers to the act of distorting research content or results by artificially manipulating the research process, or by arbitrarily modifying or deleting data.

■ Plagiarism

(4) Plagiarism is intentionally describing the content of already published academic ideas, opinions, expressions, and research results in any written media of which access is not intended for an audience of a limited size such as domestic and foreign academic journals, academic conference papers, research reports, master’s and doctoral dissertations, books, magazines, and the Internet, without explicitly citing the source.

(5) Plagiarism is applicable, even if the part presented without citation is similar to the content that has already been published; plagiarism is determined regardless of the volume presented without citation.

(6) Plagiarism also applies if the author is the same as the author of the content already published (self-plagiarism).

(7) However, academic knowledge, research results, etc. that are already popularized and used in academia are not deemed to be plagiarism even if they are described without citations.

■ Concurrent Publication

(8) The manuscript submitted to the JKPA or significant part of it has not been published in any form in other journals or primary publications, including Korean and foreign language publications, nor has the manuscript been concurrently submitted to any other journal or publication before it is withdrawn by the author or rejected by JKPA.

■ Duplicate Publication

(9) ① Papers published in domestic academic foundations, registered candidates, or international journals or similar papers cannot be submitted to and published in the JKPA.

② Whether the manuscript is different from existing publications according to the provisions of ① is decided based on the following criteria.

・ In terms of items of the purpose, method, scope, data, results, and logical development method of the research, there should be significant differences from existing publications in at least two items.

・ A difference in language used is not recognized as a differentiation.

(10) ① Manuscripts published in academic journals that are not listed officially by KCI, such as university academic journals, can be submitted to and published by the JKPA only if they have been modified or supplemented. In this case, the details of the modification or supplementation must be specified.

② Whether to modify or supplement according to the provisions of ① is determined based on the following criteria.

・ In terms of the purpose, method, scope, data, results, and logical development method of the research, there should be a significant difference from existing manuscripts in at least one item.

・ A difference in language used is not recognized as a correction or supplement.

(11) When a manuscript previously presented at an academic conference or other venues is submitted to JKPA in its modified or revised form, this should be specified in the manuscript.

(12) When a manuscript is written partly or entirely based on a research report or a part of it, this should be specified in the manuscript.

■ Resubmission

(13) A manuscript that has been rejected for publication by the JKPA or a similar manuscript cannot be re-submitted.

(14) Whether the manuscript is different from existing manuscripts that have been rejected for publication in accordance with the provisions of (13) is determined based on the following criteria.

・ In terms of items such as the purpose, method, scope, data, results, and logical development method of the research, there should be significant differences from the existing manuscript in at least two items.

・ A difference in language used is not recognized as differentiation.

3. Secondary publication

It is possible to republish manuscripts if the manuscripts satisfy the conditions of secondary publication of the ICMJE Recommendations (http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html).

4. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

All authors must disclose either in the manuscript or a statement addressed to the Editorial Board any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project are disclosed within the acknowledgment section. [Note: Examples of potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.]

5. Statement of informed consent and institutional review board approval

Any hazards associated with the conduct of the research should be identified within the manuscript. All authors must comply with the regulations of the “Bioethics and Safety Act” for research on all humans, human materials, or animal participants and must undergo a review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) in advance. A statement regarding compliance of relevant laws and institutional committees should be included in the manuscript. When necessary, the editor or reviewers may request copies of the documents to resolve questions about IRB approval and research conduct.

6. Process for managing research and publication misconduct

■ Duties of KPA Members

(1) If a KPA member discovers research misconduct that falls under Article 2.-(1) to 2.-(14) (hereinafter referred to as “Research Misconduct”), he/she should immediately report it to the Editorial Board.

■ Judgment of Research Misconduct

(2) If there is an allegation of research misconduct related to an article that is published, to be published, or under review for publication in JKPA, the Editorial Board must determine whether the allegation is credible via a reasonably thorough investigation.

(3) When the Editorial Board confirms the credibility of the allegation, the Board submits the issue to the Research Ethics Committee (hereinafter referred to as “Committee”) in addition to the findings and data of its investigation.

(4) The Chairman of the Committee provides the applicable author an opportunity to explain in advance in writing regarding the allegation and the Board’s findings prior to the review.

(5) The Committee determines whether the issue corresponds to research misconduct with 2/3 or more of the members’ attendance and 2/3 or more of the consent of the attendees. The prohibition period of manuscript submission is determined based on the following measures.

① When the Committee has determined that a forgery, alteration, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or any other violation of publication ethics has been committed under Articles 2.-(1) ~ 2.-(7), or 2.-(9) ~ 2.-(12), the following measures should be taken:

・If a paper has already been published, the Editorial Board officially retracts the paper and announces this fact on the websites of JKPA and KPA.

・In the event of duplicate publication, this fact should be notified to the relevant academic association(s).

・The author(s) involved in the misconduct should not be allowed to submit papers to the Journal for a period of five years or less from the time of the decision.

② When the Committee has determined that simultaneous submission or resubmission has been committed under Articles 2.-(8), (13), or (14), the following measures should be taken:

・The Editorial Board should refuse or suspend the paper review.

・In the event of simultaneous submissions, this fact should be notified to the relevant academic association.

・The author(s) involved in the misconduct should not be allowed to submit papers to the Journal for a period of two years or less from the time of the decision.

(6) The president of KPA informs the applicable author of the decision and the reason for the decision of the Committee.

(7) The Committee can independently determine the specific and detailed interpretation of the standards in Articles 2.-(1) ~ 2.-(14) regarding research misconduct and matters not specified in this code.

7. Process for handling cases requiring corrections, retractions, and editorial expressions of concern

(1) Any editorial expressions of concern, corrections, or retractions should follow the COPE guidelines (http://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts) where applicable. The Journal of Korea Planning Association will publish an amendment notice in print and online when a correction or retraction is warranted after an article has been published. The online correction will be linked to the original article.

(2) In certain cases, a retracted article will be deleted and replaced with a retraction statement.

8. Editorial responsibilities

(1) The Editorial Board (hereinafter referred to as “the Board”) is established under the KPA to execute matters set forth in this regulation and to review and resolve other journal-related matters.

(2) The Publisher and Board should check and confirm the compliance with the Journal's code of ethics and editorial regulations.

(3) The Board can decide on the following matters: Content composition of the journal; decision on rejecting submitted manuscripts; selection of reviewers for submitted manuscripts; evaluation of review results; exchange of opinions and mediation between reviewers and authors; determination of the final publication; determination of the order of publication; correction of published manuscripts; identifying the number of copies to be issued and electronic publication format, reviewer’s fee, and publication charge; publishing corrections, retractions, and apologies when needed; and excluding plagiarism and fraudulent data.

(4) The Board should ensure a fair selection of reviewers for submitted manuscripts, and it should carefully select reviewers who can evaluate and review the manuscript in the most appropriate and professional manner.

(5) The Board should make the utmost efforts to facilitate an exchange of opinions between reviewers and authors.

(6) The Board should manage the submitted manuscripts to be double-blind peer reviewed by independent and anonymous expert reviewers.

(7) The Board may establish and implement all matters to be observed in relation to its powers and duties as operating rules.

9. Process for handling complaints and appeals

The JKPA Editorial Board is committed to treating all complaints and appeals with the utmost confidentiality, fairness, and professionalism. If any individual or entity believes that there has been a breach of ethical standards in the research or publication process, the Board encourages them to submit a formal complaint to the JKPA Editorial Office at lsj@kpa1959.or.kr. All complaints must be submitted in writing and should include specific details about the alleged breach, along with any relevant supporting documentation. The Editorial Board will carefully review each complaint and conduct a thorough investigation, which may involve consulting relevant experts and parties involved in the matter. If a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the initial investigation, they have the option to submit an appeal within 30 days of receiving the response. The appeal should clearly state the reasons for disagreeing with the initial decision and provide any additional information that may support their case. The appeal will then be reviewed by an independent Appeals Committee, composed of impartial experts not involved in the initial investigation. The Committee's decision will be final and binding.

10. Policies on data sharing and reproducibility

■ Data sharing policy

As part of its commitment to promoting rigorous research practices, JKPA encourages all authors to share the data underlying their published research whenever possible. The authors may provide their datasets to the journal with comprehensive descriptions and/or deposit them in appropriate public repositories. Sharing data not only enhances the reproducibility and credibility of research but also enables other researchers to validate and build upon published findings.

■ Reproducibility Policy

JKPA encourages all authors to provide thorough descriptions of their methodologies, workflows, and analysis procedures to facilitate the replication of their findings. Transparent reporting not only aids in validating research outcomes but also contributes to the overall reliability and credibility of scientific knowledge. Additionally, authors are encouraged to include any relevant code, scripts, or software used in their research to support the reproducibility of their results.

11. Policy on intellectual property

Authors submitting manuscripts to JKPA are responsible for ensuring that their work is original and does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. This includes respecting copyright, trademark, and other legal protections.
Authors retain the copyright to their original work published in the JKPA. However, by submitting their manuscript for consideration, authors grant the Journal a non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and display their work in both print and electronic formats. This license also extends to indexing, archiving, and making the work available through third-party databases and repositories. Authors are encouraged to appropriately acknowledge prior work and obtain any necessary permissions for the use of copyrighted material within their submissions.
In cases where the work contains substantial contributions from multiple authors or has been funded by organizations or institutions, authors should clearly indicate the roles and contributions of each individual and disclose any conflicts of interest that may arise due to intellectual property matters.

12. Options for post-publication discussions

JKPA encourages readers, researchers, and authors to engage in post-publication discussions to further the advancement of knowledge and promote a culture of open dialogue. Readers are invited to provide thoughtful comments and insights on published articles through our platform. These discussions can serve to highlight additional perspectives, offer critiques, and contribute to the refinement of research findings. Authors are encouraged to actively participate in these discussions, responding to queries and addressing comments related to their work.
In addition to the comments section of individual articles, JKPA may also facilitate more formal mechanisms for post-publication discussions, such as hosting special commentaries, invited responses, or debates on selected topics of interest.

13. Declaration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Scientific Writing

The guidance below only refers to the writing process, and not to the use of AI to analyze data and draw insights as part of the research process. Where authors use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT), or image creators) in the writing process, authors should use these technologies only to improve language and readability. The technology should be applied with human oversight, and the result must be reviewed by authors, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. AI technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author or be cited as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities that can only be attributed to humans.