For the policies on research and publication ethics that are not stated in these instructions, the Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals [4] or the Guidelines on Good Publication Practice [5] can be applied.

Table of contents

• 1. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
• 2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
• 3. ETHICAL APPROVAL OF RESEARCH
• 4. STATEMENT ON THE USE OF SEX AND GENDER
• 5. STATEMENT ON THE USE OF ANIMALS
• 6. PUBLICATION ETHICS
• 7. SECONDARY PUBLICATION

1. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

Any research that deals with a clinical trial should be registered with a primary national clinical trial registration site such as http://ncrc.cdc.go.kr/cris, or other sites accredited by the WHO or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Authors are required to disclose commercial or similar relationships to products or companies mentioned in or related to the subject matter of the article being submitted. Sources of funding for the article should be acknowledged before the reference section under the title of “Conflict of Interest”. Affiliations of authors should include corporate appointments relating to or in connection with products or companies mentioned in the article.

3. ETHICAL APPROVAL OF RESEARCH

If human subjects were involved in the investigation, the Materials and Methods section must confirm that the research followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Additionally, manuscript must contain a statement that the research was approved by the institutional human experimentation committee or institutional review board (IRB) and informed consent was obtained from the subjects after explanation of the nature and possible consequences of the study.
Based on the ICMJE recommendation, the authorship requires the following 4 criteria:

• • Substantial contributions to the concept or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• • Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• • Agreement 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. In addition, since there is no discrimination on authorship based on age, sex, academic degree, all the researchers, including high school students, should follow the research ethics along with authorship guideline.

4. STATEMENT ON THE USE OF SEX AND GENDER

Ensure correct use of the terms sex (when reporting biological factors) and gender (identity, psychosocial or cultural factors), and, unless inappropriate, report the sex and/or gender of study participants, the sex of animals or cells, and describe the methods used to determine sex and gender. If the study was done involving an exclusive population, for example in only one sex, authors should justify why, except in obvious cases (e.g., prostate cancer).1 For author’s information, sex is considered a biological component, defined via the genetic complement of chromosomes, including cellular and molecular differences. Karyotype at birth is nearly equal for 46XX and 46XY. Sex is reflected physiologically by the gonads, sex hormones, external genitalia, and internal reproductive organs. The terms male and female should be used when describing the sex of human participants or other sex-related biological or physiological factors. Descriptions of differences between males and females should carefully refer to “sex differences” rather than “gender differences.” Gender comprises the social, environmental, cultural, and behavioral factors and choices that influence a person’s self-identity and health. Gender includes gender identity (how individuals and groups perceive and present themselves), gender norms (unspoken rules in the family, workplace, institutional, or global culture that influence individual attitudes and behaviors), and gender relations (the power relations between individuals of different gender identities).2 The followings are the recommendations for reporting in articles considering submit to KJO: (1) use the terms sex when reporting biological factors and gender when reporting gender identity or psychosocial or cultural factors; (2) disaggregate demographic and all outcome data by sex, gender, or both; (3) report the methods used to obtain information on sex, gender, or both.

• 1. Recommendations for the Conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journal. Updated Dec. 2018. http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
• 2. Janine Austin Clayton. Reporting Sex, Gender, or Both in Clinical Research?. JAMA 2016;316(18)1863-1864.

5. STATEMENT ON THE USE OF ANIMALS

When doing research on animal subjects, efforts should be made to minimize the pain and discomfort of experimental animals according to the guidelines of the ARVO Statement for Use of Animals in Ophthalmic and Vision Research [7], and that should be stated in the manuscript. Also, we cordially recommend the study to be approved by the appropriate Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

6. PUBLICATION ETHICS

Studies should pursue the fundamental principles of honesty, truthfulness, and accuracy in all research activities, and reject dishonest acts such as fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism.

7. SECONDARY PUBLICATION

It is possible to republish manuscripts if it satisfies the condition of secondary publication of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals [1].