The Korean Journal of Linguistics

The flagship Journal of the Linguistic Society of Korea

Publication Ethics Regulations of the Linguistic Society of Korea

Preamble

The Linguistic Society of Korea (LSK) is an academic organization aimed at developing and promoting linguistics research in Korea through various language-related research activities, publication in academic journals, academic conferences, and educational activities. To fulfill this purpose, the LSK publishes the Korean Journal of Linguistics (KJL) four times per year (March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31).

As the most authoritative journal in the field of linguistics in Korea, the KJL is dedicated to becoming an international journal by publishing high-level academic research findings through strict review processes. In order to solidify the KJL‘s status, the LSK enacts regulations on research ethics (“ethics regulations”) that the paper authors, reviewers, and the Editorial Board of the KJL must follow in the process of publishing papers.

These ethics regulations prescribe the basic research ethics principles that members of the LSK (“members”) must follow in the publication of the KJL. Therefore, when conducting research and publishing papers, members shall comply with these ethical regulations to share research results and respect each other's achievements, both of which are essential for academic development.

Chapter 1. General Principles

Article 1 (Purpose): The purpose of these regulations is to establish ethics relevant to the research activities of the LSK in order to prevent research misconduct and to stipulate the general ethical guidelines for the fair and systematic verification and handling of research misconduct.

Article 2 (Definition of Terms)

  1. “Research misconduct” refers to any act that undermines the integrity of research intentionally or grossly negligently regardless of the purpose of research, including forgery, falsification, plagiarism, unfair authorship, and duplicate use of data in the process of proposing, conducting, or presenting the research.
  2. “Forgery” refers to the act of making, recording, and/or reporting false data or research results.
  3. “Falsification” refers to the act of altering or omitting research-related data, processes, or results so that the research does not conform to the truth.
  4. “Plagiarism” refers to the act of using one's own or others’ ideas, research processes, research results, etc. that have already been presented in research without properly indicating the relevant sources.
  5. "Unfair authorship" refers to the act of not granting authorship to a person who has contributed to the research contents or results without a justifiable reason, or granting authorship to a person who has not contributed for reasons such as gratitude or courtesy.
  6. "Duplicate use of data" refers to the act of re-publishing the author’s previously published data or research results without proper approval or citation.

Article 3 (Scope of Application): These regulations shall apply to members of the LSK, associate members, and others (in)directly related to the research activities of the LSK.

Chapter 2. Research Ethics RegulationsSection 1. For Authors

Article 4 (Forgery, Falsification, Plagiarism): If any authors present research or arguments that they did not conduct or develop as their own, or if they present others’ research results as their own without specifying the sources, these acts shall be judged as plagiarism and referred to the Research Ethics Committee. The criteria for determining violations of specific ethical regulations are as follows:

  1. Intentionally using or presenting the whole or a part of others’ work as if it were the author’s own work without acknowledging the source
  2. Failing to cite the source in a way that conforms to fair practice within a reasonable scope even if the source of the original work is indicated (if the imported original work is not ancillary to the new work but is rather the main one, it can be considered plagiarism)
  3. Performing mosaic plagiarism without acknowledging the original author and source while assembling parts of text, diagrams, or figures from the author's own or others' work or copying ten consecutive words or three consecutive sentences
  4. Stealing the whole or a part of others’ ideas or manuscripts that have not been disclosed or published and using them as the author’s own
  5. Deliberately or grossly negligently falsifying or omitting data collected according to the research plan
  6. Misrepresenting research methods and results, including but not limited to research participants, research procedure, and statistical analysis

Article 5 (Duplicate Submission and Duplicate Publications)

  1. Manuscripts that have been submitted to and are under review by other journals must not be submitted to the KJL, and any manuscript already published in another journal must not be submitted to the KJL.
  2. The author's dissertation or conference presentation materials that have been modified or expanded shall not be subject to judgment of duplicate publications. However, the author must clearly state these facts in the paper.

Article 6 (Publication Achievements and Joint Research): The author shall be responsible only for the research he or she has actually conducted or contributed to, and only such research shall be recognized as his/her own achievement. In the case of joint research, where he/she fails to contribute to research and writing, his or her achievements shall not be recognized as the first author, co-author, or corresponding author.

  1. Once a manuscript’s publication is confirmed, materials describing the process of joint research and the contribution of each author must be submitted. Author contributions are classified into research planning, research design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, manuscript writing, and communication with the Editorial Board.
  2. The classification of authors as first author, corresponding author, or co-author must be specified in the paper.

Article 7 (Copyright of Research Articles): The copyright of research articles published in the KJL (including electronic publications) belongs to the LSK. Therefore, if authors wish to publish articles published in the KJL in other works, they must first obtain permission from the LSK and specify this fact in those publications.

Article 8 (Citations and References)

  1. When an author cites published academic materials, efforts must be made to accurately describe them and to clearly identify the source.
  2. When an author cites others’ writing or borrows ideas, this must be clearly stated through footnotes regardless of whether it is cited or referenced. These notations should inform the reader of which parts are the result of previous research and which parts are the author‘s original ideas, arguments, or interpretations.
  3. Detailed information on citations and references must be in accordance with the KJL’s "Guidelines for Preparing Manuscripts".

Article 9 (Objection to Plagiarism Judgment): If the author does not agree with the judgment of forgery, falsification, or plagiarism presented by the Editorial Board and reviewers during a manuscript’s review process, the author may raise an objection by writing down the grounds and reasons in detail and submitting it to the Editorial Board.

Section 2. For the Editorial Board

Article 10 (Basic Principles): The Editorial Board is responsible for all publication processes, such as reviewing submitted manuscripts and making final decisions, and it establishes and follows strict and fair standards and procedures.

Article 11 (Appointment of Reviewers): The Editorial Board shall appoint three suitable reviewers given the relevant field of the manuscript to review, taking into account academic activities and professionalism.

Article 12 (Request for Review): The Editorial Board shall request a fair review based on the manuscript’s quality and the provisions for the review of the paper without considering the gender, age, affiliated institution, or personal acquaintances of the author(s).

Article 13 (Principle of Disclosure of Papers): In principle, the Editorial Board shall not disclose author details or a manuscript’s contents until the publication of a submitted manuscript is confirmed.

Article 14 (Notification of Review Results): The Editorial Board shall notify the contributor of the manuscript’s review results, without any addition or omission, along with the judgment on the manuscript’s publication. If there is separate information to convey, it shall be stated as the opinion of the Editorial Board.

Section 3. For Reviewers

Article 15 (Basic Principles): When reviewing manuscripts submitted anonymously, reviewers must evaluate them fairly based on objective standards, regardless of their own theoretical dispositions, viewpoints, or personal acquaintances.

Article 16 (Preparation of Reviews): When reviewing a paper, reviewers shall respect each author's integrity and scholastic independence as a professional intellectual. If the manuscript needs to be corrected or supplemented, a detailed rationale shall be provided in the review.

Article 17 (Principle of Non-Disclosure Review): The reviewers shall keep an author’s identify and the content of the manuscript confidential during the review process until a final decision is made and the manuscript is published in the journal. Rejected manuscripts shall be kept confidential; moreover, in the case of rejection, sufficient grounds and reasons shall be specified and delivered to the Editorial Board.

Chapter 3. The Research Ethics Committee

Article 18 (Functions): The Research Ethics Committee (“committee”) shall deliberate and resolve the following matters concerning the establishment of research ethics in the LSK:

  1. Matters concerning the prevention of research misconduct
  2. Matters concerning the investigation of research misconduct
  3. Matters concerning the protection and confidentiality of informants
  4. Matters concerning the handling of research misconduct investigation results and follow-up measures
  5. Other matters requested by the chairperson in relation to the establishment of research ethics

Article 19 (Composition)

  1. The committee is composed of four ex officio members and five recommended members.
  2. The ex officio members are the Senior Vice President, Editor-in-Chief, General Affairs Director, and Senior Research Director, while the recommended members are recommended by the LSK President.
  3. The chairperson is the Senior Vice President of the LSK, and the term of office of the chairperson and members is two years.
  4. One secretary may be appointed among the members to handle the committee’s affairs.
  5. The chairperson may appoint expert members based on the committee’s opinions.

Article 20 (Meetings)

  1. Regular meetings of the committee shall be held on the first Wednesday of March, June, September, and December, when the KJL is published. In addition, irregular meetings shall be convened and presided over by the chairperson if necessary.
  2. Unless otherwise specified, a committee meeting shall be deemed with the attendance of a majority of the enrolled members, and resolutions shall be made with the consent of a majority of the members present.
  3. If necessary, non-members may attend committee meetings to hear members’ opinions.
  4. In principle, committee meetings shall be confidential.

Chapter 4. Investigation of Research Misconduct

Article 21 (Investigation of Research Misconduct)

  1. The committee shall investigate whether research misconduct exists when there is a specific report or considerable suspicion.
  2. The chairperson may conduct a preliminary investigation in consultation with the LSK President.
  3. The committee may organize an investigation committee consisting of three members appointed by the chairperson in consultation with the LSK President for a fair and rigorous investigation. The investigation committee shall be composed of members or associate members of the LSK and, if necessary, one external person may be included.

Article 22 (Rights and Responsibilities of the Investigation Committee Related to Investigation)

  1. In the course of an investigation, the investigation committee may request the informant, the person under investigation, the witnesses, and the referee to attend the committee meeting and submit relevant data.
  2. If the person under investigation refuses to attend the committee meeting or submit data without justifiable reasons, it can be presumed that he/she acknowledges the charges.
  3. The investigation committee may take corresponding measures to prevent the loss, damage, concealment, or falsification of research records or evidence.

Article 23 (Recusal and Exclusion)

  1. In circumstances in which it is difficult to expect fairness from a committee member, the person under investigation or the informant may request recusal by stating the reason. If the request for recusal is judged to be justifiable, the challenged member and investigator will be excluded from the investigation.
  2. Persons who have a direct interest in the investigation may not participate in the deliberation, resolution, or investigation of a case.
  3. Members and investigators who judge that Paragraph 1 or 2 pertains to them may apply for exclusion.
  4. The chairperson may suspend the qualifications of committee members and investigation members who have an interest in the matter under investigation.

Article 24 (Ensuring Opportunities for Statements): The committee shall give the examinee an opportunity to present his/her opinion and/or explain the matters of the investigation.

Article 25 (Measures According to Investigation Results)

  1. The committee shall make a decision confirming that the conduct of the investigated person in relation to the matter under investigation is research misconduct with the consent of at least two-thirds of the members of the committee.
  2. If there is a determination to confirm research misconduct, one or more of the following sanctions may be imposed: cancellation of publication of papers with research misconduct, notice of cancellation of publication of papers with research misconduct, deprivation or suspension of membership, suspension of submission qualification, notification to relevant authorities, and other appropriate measures.
  3. The notice in the second point of the preceding Paragraph 2 shall include the name of the author(s), the name of the paper, the volume and number of the journal in which the paper was published, the date of cancellation, and the reason for the cancellation.

Article 26 (Notification of Results): The chairperson shall outline the committee's decision on the investigation result in writing and notify the relevant persons; i.e., the person under investigation, the informant, and the KJL Editorial Board.

Article 27 (Re-deliberation): Where the person under investigation or the informant disagrees with the committee’s decision, he/she may request a re-deliberation from the committee in writing stating the reasons within 30 days from the date of receiving the notice under Article 25.

Article 28 (Duty to Maintain Confidentiality)

  1. The committee shall protect the informant and endeavor not to unduly infringe upon the honor of the person under investigation.
  2. All matters related to reporting, investigation, deliberation, resolution, and suggestion shall be kept confidential; however, if there is a significant need for disclosure, it may be conducted through the committee’s resolution.
  3. Members and persons who (in)directly participate in the investigation shall not improperly divulge information obtained during the investigation process, including but not limited to deliberation, resolution, and examination.

Article 29 (Expenses): The LSK shall pay the expenses necessary for the committee’s operation within the budget.

Chapter 5. Revision of Research Ethics Regulations

The revision procedure of the research ethics regulations shall follow the revision procedure of the rules of the LSK. If the ethics regulations are amended, members who have pledged to abide by the existing regulations shall be considered to have pledged to abide by the new regulations without additional procedures.

Article 1 (Enforcement Date): These regulations shall come into effect starting on July 1, 2007.

The first amended regulations will come into effect on July 1, 2009.

The second amended regulations will come into effect on August 31, 2021.

Article 2 (Exemption Starting Point): These regulations do not apply to papers published in the journal before this regulation is enacted and implemented.

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