< 연구논문 > : Big 4 회계법인의 글로벌 통합이 감사품질에 미치는 영향: 한영회계법인 사례를 중심으로

김범준 ( Bum Joon Kim ),이준일(교신저자) ( Joon Il Lee ),곽수근 ( Su Keun Kwak ) 한국회계학회 2016 회계저널 Vol.25 No.2

국내 회계감사시장에서 4대 회계법인들은 각각 글로벌 Big 4 회계법인과 업무제휴를 맺고 지적자산과 인적자산을 공유하여 회계감사서비스를 제공하고 있다. 본 연구는 2008년 글로벌 원펌(one-firm)으로 통합된 한영회계법인 사례를 통하여 국내 Big 4 회계법인이 글로벌 회계법인과 하나의 조직으로 통합되는 경우 감사품질에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지를 분석하였다. 한영회계법인은 2008년 Ernst and Young(E&Y)과 원펌으로 통합하였는데 그 결과 E&Y는 제휴관계일 때보다 감사실패시 직접적으로 명성훼손이나 소송위험을 부담하게 되었다. 또한 글로벌 본사와 지적/인적자산의 공유가 확대되고 소속 감사파트너의 보상체계가 글로벌 성과와 연계되었다. 따라서 더 높은 수준의 감사품질관리체계를 도입하고, 감사품질을 제고할 가능성이 있다. 반면, 기존의 Big 4와 제휴관계가 효율적으로 운영되었다면, 통합에 의해 감사품질이 추가적으로 향상되지는 않을 수 있다. 따라서, 이러한 원펌통합이 감사품질에 영향을 미쳤는지에 대한 실증연구가 필요하다. 본 연구에서 감사품질의 대용치로서 재량적 발생액(Dechow and Dichev 2002; Kothari et al. 2005)을 이용하여 분석한 결과 한영회계법인 피감사법인의 재량적 발생액의 유의적인 변화가 글로벌 통합 전후에 발견되지 않았다. 이중차분분석(difference-in-differences)모델을 활용하여 나머지 Big3 감사인과 비교하여 분석한 결과에서도 글로벌 통합 이전과 이후 Big3와 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 분석결과는 한영회계법인이 감사하는 기업만을 대상으로 하거나, 표본을 2008년 전후로 구분하여 각각 분석한 결과 등과도 일치하였다. 즉, 감사인의 글로벌 원펌 통합이 감사품질을 유의적으로 제고한다는 점을 발견하지 못하였다. 단, 글로벌 통합 이후 한영회계법인의 유가증권시장 상장기업에 비해 KOSDAQ 등록 법인 고객수가 급감하는 것이 관찰되어 통합으로 인해 감사위험에 대한 기준치를 보다 엄격하게 적용했음을 추정할 수 있다. 본 연구는 Big 4 회계법인의 글로벌 원펌 통합이 감사품질에 미치는 효과를 최초로 실증분석 하였다는데 의의가 있으며, 향후 글로벌 원펌 통합을 고려하고 있는 Big 3 회계법인의 파트너 뿐만 아니라 학계와 실무계, 투자자들에게 모두 유용한 시사점을 제공하고 있다. Korean audit market is traditionally dominated by 4 large auditors: Anjin, Hanyoung, Samil, and Samjung. These large auditors audit about 2/3 of listed companies while the market share of them increase more for large client firms. These dominant status is similar to the situation in many other developed countries. However, one of the peculiar characteristics of Korean audit market is the large auditor`s affiliation with global Big 4 auditors. They are affiliated with global Big 4 auditors such as Deloitte (Anjin), Ernst & Young (Hanyoung), PriceWaterhousCoopers (Samil), and KPMG (Samjung). For the affiliation, they pay a certain percentage of their revenue to the global Big 4 auditors. In return for it, they share intellectual properties and human resources. For example, they exchange personnels, relevant information, audit technology globally, and help establishing continuous professional education system. However, they maintain their autonomous status independent from global headquarters. This market structure is different from the most of the other countries where Big 4 auditors have direct presence. In 2008, Hanyoung (former affiliate of Ernst & Young) was globally integrated into Ernst & Young as one firm. The partners of Hanyoung voted for the integration. Globally, Ernst & Young is structured to four regional headquarters: Americas, EMEIA(Europe, Middle East, India and Africa), Asia-Pacific, and Japan. As a result of the integration, Hanyoung became the first Korean audit firm that is directly controlled by global audit firms. Hanyoung became the Korean office structured under Asia-Pacific regional headquarters located in Hong Kong. After the integration, Hanyoung experienced various changes. These can be summarized to four categories broadly. First, Asia-Pacific Ernst & Young headquarters perform decision-making for various firm policies, including recruitment and promotion. Thus, the uniform policies are applied to all offices in Asia-Pacific region. Second, more frequent intra-office personnel exchanges are promoted within Ernst & Young Global. Thus, foreign staff members are more frequently visit Seoul office and perform various tasks together with local members. Similarly, chances for Korean staffs to move foreign offices increased also. Third, peer reviews are performed by partners working in other offices located in various countries. This procedure promotes more independent and thorough audit approach. Fourth, the performance evaluation and compensation decisions are performed by headquarters. Thus, the compensation in Korean office became tied to the performance of all global offices. This change promotes Korean staff members to consider big pictures rather than local market only. In addition, more performance-based compensation policy is implemented. These changes can positively influence the audit quality of Hanyoung. However, it is also possible that these changes do not significantly influence audit quality. In Korea, there is not enough evidence that Big 4 auditors provide higher-quality audit service than non-Big 4 auditors do. Francis and Wang (2008) and Khurana and Raman (2004) also suggest that there is no quality differences between Big 4 and non-Big 4 auditors in weak legal regime countries such as Korea. Thus, audit quality is the function of legal regime that the auditors face. If the legal regime does not change, it is difficult to expect any change in audit quality. In sum, whether the integration of Hanyoung caused the improvement in audit quality is an empirical question. This study investigates this important but unexplored issue. In empirical analyses, we define pre-integration period from 2005 to 2007 and post-integration period from 2009 to 2011 and compare how audit quality changes between the two periods. We use two proxies to measure audit quality: performance-adjusted discretionary accruals (Kothari et al. 2005) and accrual quality-adjusted discretionary accruals (Dechow and Dichev 2002). We use the absolute value of the accruals measured by these two methods. To control for the general time trend occurred during the period, we use the audit quality of other Big 4 auditors as benchmarks and perform difference-in-differences analyses. A maximum sample size used for the analysis is 4,490 firm-year observations, among which 638 observations in per-integration period and 406 observations in post-integration period are the clients audited by Hanyoung. Our empirical analyses reveal that the audit quality of Hanyoung was not different from that of other Big 4 auditors in the pre-integration period as well as post-integration period, suggesting that the integration did not significantly improve the audit quality of Hanyoung. These results are robust in various sensitivity checks, including the analyses using signed discretionary accruals. Analysis using the clients of Hanyoung only do not yield any noticeable differences. There exist certain limitations in our analyses. It is possible that audit quality changes in other dimensions that discretionary accruals do. In addition, there may exist long-term effect of the integration, while our study focuses on relative short-term period. Finally, it may be difficult to general the case of Hanyoung to other audit firms. There is no guarantee that Hanyoung`s case is a representative of all other auditors. Subject to these caveats, we believe that our study provides interesting regulatory and practical insights into the effect of the integration.

Global logistics and supply chain integration in the digital era: a focus on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Michael Wang,Paul Childerhouse,Ahmad Abareshi 인하대학교 정석물류통상연구원 2024 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS AND TRADE Vol.22 No.2

Purpose – To delve into the integration of global logistics and supply chain networks amidst the digital transformation era. This study aims to investigate the potential role of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in facilitating the integration of global flows encompassing both tangible goods and intangibles. Additionally, the study seeks to incorporate third-party logistics activities into a comprehensive global logistics and supply chain integration framework. Design/methodology/approach – Prior research is synthesised into a global logistics and supply chain integration framework. A case study was undertaken on Yuan Tong (YTO) express group to investigate the framework, employing qualitative data analysis techniques. The study specifically examined the context of the BRI to enhance comprehension of its impact on global supply chains. Information was collected in particular to two types of supply chain flows, the physical flow of goods, and intangible information and cash flows. Findings – The proposed framework aligns well with the case study, leading to the identification of global logistics and supply chain integration enablers. The results demonstrate a range of ways BRI promotes global logistics and supply chain integration. Research limitations/implications – The case study, with multiple examples, focuses on how third-party logistics firms can embrace global logistics and supply chain integration in line with BRI. The case study approach limits generalisation, further applications in different contexts are required to validate the findings. Originality/value – The framework holds promise for aiding practitioners and researchers in gaining deeper insights into the role of the BRI in global logistics and supply chain integration within the digital era. The identified enablers underscore the importance of emphasising key factors necessary for success in navigating digital transformation within global supply chains.

Global and Regional Financial Integration in Emerging Asia: Evidence from Stock Markets

Guglielmo Maria Caporale,Luis A,Gil-Alana,Kefei You 세종대학교 경제통합연구소 2021 Journal of Economic Integration Vol.36 No.2

This paper investigates if financial markets in emerging Asia have become more globally or regionally integrated since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. It employs a price-based measure of integration, namely, stock return differentials, between 10 emerging Asian economies and the United Stated (US) (as an indicator of global integration), as well as Japan and the Asian region (as two alternative indicators of regional integration), to test for mean reversion and draw inferences regarding financial integration. This paper makes a three-fold contribution to the literature. It uses not only aggregate but also industry-level data on stock returns, it examines the impact of the 2008 crisis, and it adopts a more general fractional integration approach. The evidence suggests that in emerging Asia, on both the aggregate and industry (especially for the financial sector) levels, there is more regional than global integration, and that the former became even stronger during the post-2008 crisis period. Furthermore, Japan’s influence has been declining and the Chinese stock market has become more integrated, both regionally and globally.

Social Integration Education and Civic Education for Democracy in Preparation for Unification of Korea

황인표 한국윤리학회 2015 倫理硏究 Vol.104 No.1

The term “civic education for democracy” is widely used and defined differently depending on the purpose of education and on the tradition, necessity of the country. Despite such diverse definitions of the term, directions of civic education for democracy are characterized by the following categorization regardless of periods and countries: first, civic education for democracy aims at democracy and seeks to achieve democracy, second, the education is designed to help develop relationship skills required in everyday life in a community. On the other hand, in terms of nurturing attributes of citizens, the education may be operated in a virtue-oriented manner and with the aim of addressing social. Even if Korean civic education does not have a long history, it is extremely important to set standards and create contents for a new concept of civic education for democracy which fit to recent changes in our society in preparation of unification. This should be emphasized not only in preparation of unification, but also in integration education following unification. Upon unification of Korea, we have to place the first priority on ‘overcoming differences’ and other problems such as mutual slander and derogation to ensure national integration. Therefore, in order to help students become a healthy citizen in the same political community from the perspectives of the global community and the world civil society, civic education for democracy to achieve social integration needs to focus on the following in terms of content: 1) Understanding of cultural diversity and culturally responsive education Koreans tend to be considerably unfriendly to other peoples or citizens of other countries as we have a strong sense of pride as a single-race state. As a result, Korea remains the lowest place in ‘multi -cultural sensitivity index’ and ‘mutual understanding capability’ among OECD member countries. Consequently, it is very meaningful to choose the enhancement of ‘understanding of multi-culturalism,’ ‘inter-cultural capability’ and ‘culturally responsiveness capability’ as key contents of integration education. 2)Global awareness education Today, societies are characterized by global village and global community. Global awareness education should be beyond existing traditional education practices and help students cultivate a higher level of citizenship skills which they are expected to have as a citizen of the global community. Division of the country should be viewed from global perspectives beyond the national viewpoint, and in this respect, civic education for democracy in Korea should be a global citizenship education fit to social changes today. 3)Enhancement of a sense of community or solidarity Given that the civic education for democracy (political education) in Germany since the unification stressed making a clean break with political education or socialist ideology of East Germany, ‘reminding German citizens of a sense of belonging to a shared community, and strengthening spiritual ties for integration, ’the biggest challenges that Korean civic education may face after unification of Korea will be to make a break with ‘North Korea’s unique socialist ideology,’ the so-called ‘legacy and marriage portion’ of North Koreans and raise a ‘sense of belonging and solidarity between the two Koreas.’ 4) Active participation Being a citizen means basically being a sovereign. Generally, sovereignty is exercised via an election in most cases, in which citizens are clearly recognized as a sovereign. In a democratic society, individuals take part in every decision with equal rights, enjoying equality and autonomy, and such decision will in turn relate to the individuals either directly or indirectly.

현재의 글로벌화는 `1571년`에 시작되었는가?-`16세기 글로벌화기원론`에 대한 비판적 평가-

현재열 ( Hyun Jae-youl ) 한국서양사학회 2017 西洋史論 Vol.0 No.132

많은 역사가들은 16세기 이후 은을 비롯한 여러 상품의 세계 전역에 걸친 교역활동의 전개를 통해 `세계경제`가 등장했다는 점에 대체로 동의해 왔다. 이 16세기 은 교역의 전개와 세계경제 등장에 대한 논의에서 학술적으로 큰 공헌을 한 이로 데니스 플린과 아르투로 히랄데즈(Dennis O. Flynn & Arturo Giraldez)가 있다. 이들은 세계 은 교역을 국제경제에 적용하는 거시경제적 시각이 아니라 실물적 측면에서의 미시경제적 시각에서 접근하여 세계 은 교역의 메커니즘을 수요·공급의 법칙에 입각해 설명하는 데 기여를 했고, 아울러 세계시장의 형성을 `수많은 지역시장의 통합`으로 설명함으로써 세계경제의 등장에 대한 이해에도 크게 도움을 주었다. 하지만 플린과 히랄데즈는 2000년대를 전후해서부터 16세기 세계경제의 등장이 오늘날의 `글로벌화(globalization)`의 기원이라는 주장을 강력하게 제기해 왔다. 그들은 세계 무역의 연결관계에서 만이 아니라 16세기 이후 `전 지구적인` 생태학적·병리학적 연결관계의 등장을 주요 근거로 삼아 16세기부터 글로벌화가 시작되었음을 주장하였다. 이 글은 플린과 히랄데즈의 이런 16세기 글로벌화 기원론에 대해 비판적으로 검토해 보고자 하는 비평 글이다. 먼저 논의의 출발로서 플린과 히랄데즈의 글로벌화 정의를 오늘날의 글로벌화에 대한 다양한 정의와 비교하여 그들의 정의가 가진 문제점들을 밝혔다. 둘째, 16세기 세계경제의 등장을 글로벌화의 기원으로 보는 플린과 히랄데즈의 주장을 전 지구적 `통합(integration)`과 `연결(connection)`이라는 측면에서 검토하여 16세기 등장한 `세계경제`가 오늘날의 글로벌화에서 제시하는 전 지구적으로 균일하고 일체화된 통합 및 연결과는 그 정도에서 훨씬 못 미친다는 점을 보여주었다. 특히 그들의 전체 논의에서 중심적인 역할을 하는 근대 초기(근세) 동아시아 경제의 실상을 근거로 그들의 주장이 가진 한계를 밝혔다. 이런 과정을 통해 플린과 히랄데즈의 16세기 글로벌화 기원론의 문제점을 드러내고, 16세기 세계경제의 등장 이후 오늘날까지의 전개에 대해 질적 전환을 충분히 고려한 신중한 접근의 필요성을 강조하고자 한다. The historical scholars have generally agreed on the emergence of `world economy` through the development of trades in many goods (including silver) across the world, beginning from the 16th century. Among them, Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Giraldez, the economic historians of the U.S., have contributed greatly to the academic scholarship about the development of the world silver trade and the emergence of world economy in the 16th century. However, Flynn and Giraldez have powerfully put forward the suggestion that this emergence of the world economy was the origin of today`s globalization since around 2000`s. They have suggested that globalization was born in the 16th century not only in terms of the connections of world trades, but also on the ground of the deployment the world-wide ecological and epidemiological connections. This paper is a critical essay about the argument of the 16th century`s globalization birth by Flynn and Giraldez. To begin with, it considers the definitions of terms, such as `world economy`, `global economy`, `globalization`, etc., and arrange conceptually the world economy and the globalization. Secondly, it clarifies their main arguments concerning the 16th century`s globalization birth by comparing their definition of globalization to other definitions. Thirdly, it approaches their arguments in three dimensions: the definition of globalization, the actual nature of the emerging world economy in the 16th century, and the extents of its integration and connection. Through these examinations, this paper discloses the problems of their argument regarding the birth of globalization in the 16th century, and emphasizes the necessity to approach more cautiously the emergence of world economy by giving sufficient consideration to its qualitative transformations from the 16th century till today.

Social Integration Education and Civic Education for Democracy in Preparation for Unification of Korea

( In Pyo Hwang ) 한국윤리학회 2015 倫理硏究 Vol.104 No.1

The term “civic education for democracy” is widely used and defined differently depending on the purpose of education and on the tradition, necessity of the country. Despite such diverse definitions of the term, directions of civic education for democracy are characterized by the following categorization regardless of periods and countries: first, civic education for democracy aims at democracy and seeks to achieve democracy, second, the education is designed to help develop relationship skills required in everyday life in a community. On the other hand, in terms of nurturing attributes of citizens, the education may be operated in a virtue-oriented manner and with the aim of addressing social. Even if Korean civic education does not have a long history, it is extremely important to set standards and create contents for a new concept of civic education for democracy which fit to recent changes in our society in preparation of unification. This should be emphasized not only in preparation of unification, but also in integration education following unification. Upon unification of Korea, we have to place the first priority on ‘overcoming differences’ and other problems such as mutual slander and derogation to ensure national integration. Therefore, in order to help students become a healthy citizen in the same political community from the perspectives of the global community and the world civil society, civic education for democracy to achieve social integration needs to focus on the following in terms of content: 1) Understanding of cultural diversity and culturally responsive education Koreans tend to be considerably unfriendly to other peoples or citizens of other countries as we have a strong sense of pride as a single-race state. As a result, Korea remains the lowest place in ‘multi -cultural sensitivity index’ and ‘mutual understanding capability’ among OECD member countries. Consequently, it is very meaningful to choose the enhancement of ‘understanding of multi-culturalism,’ ‘inter-cultural capability’ and ‘culturally responsiveness capability’ as key contents of integration education. 2)Global awareness education Today, societies are characterized by global village and global community. Global awareness education should be beyond existing traditional education practices and help students cultivate a higher level of citizenship skills which they are expected to have as a citizen of the global community. Division of the country should be viewed from global perspectives beyond the national viewpoint, and in this respect, civic education for democracy in Korea should be a global citizenship education fit to social changes today. 3)Enhancement of a sense of community or solidarity Given that the civic education for democracy (political education) in Germany since the unification stressed making a clean break with political education or socialist ideology of East Germany, ‘reminding German citizens of a sense of belonging to a shared community, and strengthening spiritual ties for integration, ’the biggest challenges that Korean civic education may face after unification of Korea will be to make a break with ‘North Korea`s unique socialist ideology,’ the so-called ‘legacy and marriage portion’ of North Koreans and raise a ‘sense of belonging and solidarity between the two Koreas.’ 4) Active participation Being a citizen means basically being a sovereign. Generally, sovereignty is exercised via an election in most cases, in which citizens are clearly recognized as a sovereign. In a democratic society, individuals take part in every decision with equal rights, enjoying equality and autonomy, and such decision will in turn relate to the individuals either directly or indirectly.

세계화 시대의 유럽법과 동아시아-과제와 전망 : 경제통합과 법의 통합 -동아시아의 관점에서 본 EU법-

장경원 ( Kyung Won Chang ) 서울대학교 법학연구소 2008 서울대학교 法學 Vol.49 No.4

The world trend of globalization and information society caused the official conference in East Asia 2000, so called `ASEAN plus Three`. When we talk about the integration of East Asia, East Asia is differently said to be East Asia, Northeast Asia, the Asia-Pacific, and things like that. But any way it was mainly discussion about South-Korea, China, and Japan including other asian countries. However there were academic efforts to analyse East Asia into a single unit, it is impossible for East Asia to trace the experience of Integration of Europe as it is, which lasted more than 50 years. During the integration of european countries broke obsession with modern nation state and boundaries of countries, East Asian countries nowadays establish democracy and the rule of law, the situation of which is even more solidly, should find the way of integration. The features of the economic integration of Europe means the integration of legal system. This proposition should be taken into account along with discussing about the formation of the future East Asian community. The European Union started originally as a economic community. But she could not have developed today in a stable and sustainable way, without support of her own legal system. In this context, the European Union is the Law Community. The EU law system as a new self regulated law system is superior to that of member state. This discourse could be applied to the future of economic integration in East Asia too, because our legal system is more and more similar in the era of globalization. In first place, principles of law for integration could be attractive for the East Asia countries. Because of its flexible characteristics, principles of law could be considered as useful means, with which we can find the direction of integration in the East Asia.

Integration from Retail Banking to Non-Financial Corporations in EMU

( Sanjay Sehgal ),( Priyanshi Gupta ),( Florent Deisting ) 세종대학교 경제통합연구소 2016 Journal of Economic Integration Vol.31 No.3

This paper investigates the integration process within the European Economic and Monetary Union’s retail banking industry by analyzing deposit and lending rates to nonfinancial corporations. The investigation covers the 2003~2014 period, examining the normal period, the global crisis period, and the European debt crisis period. The paper classifies sampled countries into three groups on the basis of their Gross Domestic Product to investigate the relationship between economic size and degree of integration. We employ five different indicators to assess various dimensions of integration: beta convergence, sigma convergence, variance ratio, asymmetric dynamic conditional correlation, and dynamic co-integration. The results point toward a weak degree of integration, which was worsened by the twin crises. In addition, results indicate that more heterogeneity exists in the credit market than in the deposits market. Furthermore, short-term maturity products are observed to be more converged than longer-term maturity products. We also observe a positive relationship between economic size of sampled countries and the degree of retail banking integration.

Does Globalization Matter on Fiscal Decentralization? New Evidence from the OECD

Barbara Ermini,Raffaella Santolini 연세대학교 동서문제연구원 2014 Global economic review Vol.43 No.2

In this paper, we re-examine the effects of globalization on fiscal decentralization of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries by using the overall KOF index of globalization and its main subcomponents — economic, political and social integration. Using different indicators of fiscal decentralization, we find a positive impact of the overall index of globalization on both tax revenue and expenditure decentralization side, although not robust across different panel data specifications. Focusing on the links between decentralization and subcomponents of globalization, we find that both economic and social integration foster fiscal decentralization, whereas political integration inhibits its growth.

세계화와 남북의 사회통합을 위한 문화적 해석 - “Inter-cultural Communication”을 중심으로 -

신은희 경희대학교(국제캠퍼스) 국제지역연구원 2009 아태연구 Vol.16 No.1

The purpose of this paper is to present the social integration of South-North Korea from a cultural point of view by employing a methodology of the inter-cultural communication hermeneutics. The inter-cultural communication method has been driven by an emphasis on the relationships among different cultures in search of the most productive pathways to construct the more reliable and collaborative community in this global ear. As globalization and localization intensify in every corner of the world, the field of social-cultural integration of South-North of Korea is increasingly confronted by more fundamental issues of identity, community, and humanity. Culture, along with the political-economic dimension, has come to be one of the dominant issues within the social integration process of South-North Korea. Inter-cultural communication provides a conceptual framework for analyzing interaction between dissimilar societies of South-North Korea. This paper presents a critical view about the frequent use of South Korea's cultural standards in intercultural communication as a form of hegemony, which is linked with globalization as Anglo-Americanization, trans-nationalization, and commercialization. The model of social integration has been discussed based on the four representative theories: functionalist, neo-functionalist, systematic theory, and structural analysis to bring up the recreation of the Korean organic model of integration without relying on a particular westernized model. The survival and flourishing of two Koreas depends on the ability to communicate successfully across differences. This paper examines the futuristic forms of cultural integration: culture of distance, restoration of the ancient Korean cultural heritage, cultural bi-polarity, disintegration of ethnocentrism, neo-Korean feminism & sex culture, and conflict between nationalism and fundamental religions. The basic rationale of this paper is on that the mutual referencing and learning of South-North Korea that will be vital to the harmonious social integration of South-North Korea. Somewhere in the convergence of the two cultures and perceptions the South-North Korea, they discover the channel of the ‘transversality’ of culture and the meaning of co-existence as well. 이 논문은 문화 간 커뮤니케이션 해석학이라는 방법론을 통하여 남북의 사회통합을 문화적 측면에서 고찰한 글이다. 세계화의 개념을 문화적 복합 연계성에 두고 다중문화 간 발생하는 문화 변동 현상을 남북의 상황가운데 접목시켜 통합과정에서 발생할 수 있는 남북의 다양한 문화갈등과 변화의 가능성을 진단하고 있다. 이 글은 세계화의 문화 변동과정이 특정 지배문화가 하부문화를 흡수하는 문화의 균일성으로 나타나는 것이 아니라 수많은 지역문화들이 다양한 상호연계와 네트워크를 통하여 ‘연결’과 ‘소통’을 통하여 새로운 문화층을 창조해 내간다는 인문학적 문화이론에 기초를 두고 있다. 문화 간 커뮤니케이션에서 강조하는 문화 흐름의 속성과 문화가 학습되어 전수되는 과정, 변화의 철학에 기초하여 발생하는 문화변용의 사례와 궁극적으로 변혁을 향해 끊임없이 타문화와의 접촉과 대화를 통하여 다원적 가치를 실현하는 문화통합의 가능성을 제시하고 있다. 통합의 논의에서는 대표적인 기능주의자, 신기능주의자, 조직통합주의자, 다원적 통합주의자의 핵심개념을 통하여 남북의 이중문화 구조에 어떻게 응용할 수 있는가를 살펴보고 유기체적이며 순환론적인 통합모델을 제시하고 있다. 사회통합과정에서 발생하는 남북한 사회의 문화적 변동현상을 분석하여 남북의 ‘가로지르기 문화성’을 확대 발전시킬 수 있는 문화진단을 제시하고 있다.