The Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (KJCEM) adheres to the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics. The journal follows the Guidelines on Good Publication (https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines), the Guidelines for Research Ethics of the Ministry of Education (Korea), and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) standards.

1. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship credit is granted only when all of the following conditions are met: substantial contribution to conception and design, data acquisition, or analysis and interpretation; drafting or critical revision of the article for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; and accountability for all aspects of the work to ensure accuracy and integrity.

KJCEM allows only one corresponding author per article. Equal contribution may be noted for co-first authors, but multiple corresponding authors are not permitted. Authorship may be changed prior to publication if agreed upon by all authors; however, changes after publication are not permitted unless the error originated from the editorial office.

To promote transparency and avoid misunderstandings, KJCEM might asked a contributorship statement with the manuscript submitted to KJCEM. The statement should explicitly identify the contributions of each author to the research. This statement will not be published, however, it should accurately reflect the individual roles played by each author.

2. Complaints and Appeals

The Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (KJCEM) upholds the highest standards of integrity and ethics in scholarly publishing. This policy outlines the process for handling allegations of misconduct in research or publication. KJCEM takes all allegations of misconduct, whether pre-publication or post-publication, and follows a fair and impartial investigative procedure. The journal follows the Core Practices outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

3. Originality and Duplicate Publication

All manuscripts must be original and not under review elsewhere. Accepted manuscripts, in whole or in part, may not be published in another journal without approval of the Editorial Board. Submissions are screened for plagiarism and duplicate publication using Similarity Check. Proven cases of plagiarism or duplicate publication will result in rejection or retraction, and the authors’ institution or funding agency may be notified. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce previously published material, including text, figures, or tables.

4. Conflict of Interest / Competing Interests

The corresponding author must disclose to the editor any financial, personal, or academic relationships that could inappropriately influence the interpretation of data. All sources of funding for the study must be explicitly acknowledged.

Editors and editorial board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit written consent. Privileged information or ideas obtained by editors as a result of handling the manuscript will be kept confidential and not used for their personal advantage. Editors will recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions connected to the papers; instead, they will ask another member of the editorial board to handle the manuscript.

5. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

The Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (KJCEM) is committed to ensuring transparency, openness, and reproducibility in all published research. We adhere to the principles of data sharing and scientific integrity to support the validation and reproducibility of research findings. Our policies on data sharing and reproducibility are based on ethical guidelines and best practices in academic publishing.

Regarding data sharing, authors are encouraged to make the raw data, methodologies, and analysis code used in their research publicly available to enable other researchers to validate, replicate, and build upon the work. While we encourage data sharing, we understand that in some cases, there may be legitimate reasons to withhold certain data, such as privacy concerns, proprietary data, or ongoing research that may be affected by data disclosure.

6. Ethical Oversight

The Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (KJCEM) aims to maintain the highest standards of intellectual property protection and ethical publishing practices. This policy outlines the journal's guidelines on copyright, publishing licenses, costs associated with publishing, prepublication considerations, plagiarism, and redundant/overlapping publication. The journal follows the Core Practices outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

7. Intellectual Property

The Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (KJCEM) is commited to ensuring that KJCEM retain control of their intellectual property while promoting broad dissemination and responsible use of published content. All content in this journal is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). The details of Copyright and Licensing are present at https://www.kjcem.org/kjcem/BestPractice#a5.

8. Human and Animal Rights

Research involving human participants must comply with the *Declaration of Helsinki (2013 revision)*. Personally identifiable information should not be disclosed. Studies involving animals must conform to institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals, and all animals must be treated ethically throughout the research process.

9. Informed Consent and IRB Approval

Written informed consent is required for all studies involving human subjects where identifiable or sensitive information is collected. For clinical research, approval or certification by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the author’s institution is mandatory. Editors and reviewers may request documentation of informed consent or IRB approval as needed.

10. Managing Misconduct

Suspected cases of research or publication misconduct—including plagiarism, data fabrication, redundant publication, authorship disputes, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research, reviewer misconduct, or complaints against editors—will be investigated by the Editorial Board in accordance with COPE flowcharts. Authors will be given the opportunity to respond, and where necessary, institutions or funding agencies will be notified. Proven cases of misconduct may result in retraction and sanctions.

11. Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections

KJCEM acknowledges that honest errors are a part of science. When errors are detected, a correction notice will be published promptly. Retractions and expressions of concern will follow COPE recommendations. Corrections and retractions will be clearly linked to the original publication, indexed appropriately, and transparently tracked through CrossMark to ensure version control and archival integrity.

12. Editorial Responsibilities

The Editorial Board is committed to safeguarding publication ethics by maintaining the integrity of the academic record, ensuring that business interests do not compromise ethical standards, and publishing corrections, clarifications, and retractions when necessary. Editors have the authority to accept or reject manuscripts based solely on scholarly merit. They are required to avoid conflicts of interest, uphold reviewer confidentiality, and prevent plagiarism or fraudulent data from entering the scientific record.

13. Publication Malpractice Statement

KJCEM maintains a strict stance against all forms of publication malpractice, including but not limited to:

• Plagiarism: Use of others’ work without proper citation.
• Data fabrication or falsification: Manipulation or invention of data, images, or results.
• Improper authorship: Gift authorship, ghost authorship, or omission of legitimate contributors.
• Redundant or duplicate publication: Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals or republishing substantial parts of prior work.
• Unethical research practices: Conducting studies without required IRB or ethical approval, or violating human/animal subject protections.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest: Withholding financial, personal, or institutional relationships that could bias interpretation.
• Reviewer/editor misconduct: Misuse of confidential information, biased review, or appropriation of ideas.

Confirmed cases of malpractice will lead to manuscript rejection or article retraction, notification of the author’s institution or funding body, and possible sanctions, including restrictions on future submissions.