Research Report
A Study on Enactment Direction of Framework Act on Inter-Korean Relations
Ⅰ. Backgrounds and Purposes
▶ As an international consensus has been reached on the need to promote and develop a regime of peace on the Korean peninsula, and this has been declared in the agreement between the leaders of the two Koreas, it has become necessary to analyze the related legislation.
○ The 「Basic Act on Inter-Korean Relations」 may be said to be the most important piece of legislation related to the attainment of a peace regime on the Korean peninsula.
▶ The necessity of basic legislation regulating inter-Korean relations
○ The basic laws regulating inter-Korean relations at the present include the 「National Security Act」and the 「Inter-Korean Relations Development Act」 among others. However, it is widely felt that these two pieces of legislation do not contain forward-looking contents aimed at the development of inter-Korean relations and, ultimately, national reunification.
○ In regulating the basic conditions of inter-Korean relations, it is necessary to point out and correct the problems based on a review of the existing legislation. It is also necessary to strive to advocate a fundamentally new direction for future legislation.
▶ Establishment of a new legislative direction for the signing of a basic inter-Korean agreement
○ The basic inter-Korean agreement should be recognized as the most important legal system common to both South and North Korea with regard to inter-Korean transactions, exchange, and cooperation. However, the 「Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations」 continues to reveal problematic provisions.
○ As a potential direction for correcting the procedural problems under the inter-Korean agreement and for improving the legal system in order to safeguard its implementation, it has been suggested that a new law should be legislated when inter-Korean exchange and cooperation has taken root in the wake of further developments.
○ The new law should eliminate the problems revealed in the provisions of the current inter-Korean agreement; and principles and basic directions should be established for the key issues.
Ⅱ. Key contents
▶ This study presents a direction for domestic legislation appropriate to the progress of the peace process on the Korean peninsula.
○ As the two sides have agreed to develop a regime of peace on the Korean peninsula, this paper presents a direction for domestic legislation amid the so-called ‘peace process’, i.e. the process of moving forward to a regime of peace.
○ It has been proven that fundamental reforms are required, such as the drafting of new legislation that will basically enable the two Koreas to co-exist by overcoming the Division Legislation, Confrontation Legislation or Cold-War Legislation established and implemented under the armistice.
- Specifically, this paper treats the relations between the 「National Security Act」 and the legislation on inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, the attempts to legislate inter-Korean legal systems in connection with the June 15 Joint Declaration and related developments, the extension of governance for inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, and improvement of the related legislation, the amendment to the current 「Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations」, and the necessity for legislation of the 「Framework Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations and Peace on the Korean Peninsula」.
▶ As the current legislation on inter-Korean relations includes many problems and limitations, it is believed that the current statutes cannot adequately respond to the new peace regime on the Korean peninsula.
○ The key items under the current inter-Korean legislation, such as the provisions on unification under the Constitution, general legislation, administrative rules, and other legislation related to North Korea, have been analyzed.
- Specifically, this paper studies the excessive application mutatis mutandis of the 「Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act」, the delegation provisions, the positive regulation system, legislations related to the Kaesung Industrial Complex and Geumgang Mountain Tourism, and research on problems with and improvement directions for the 「Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations」.
○ It also proposes that the related legislation should be improved based on the roles and importance of the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office in connection with the development of the peace regime. It presents a basic direction for new legislation on inter-Korean relations based on the special relations between the two Koreas in preparation for the new regime on the Korean peninsula.
▶ Matters related to the 「Basic Act on Inter-Korean Relations」 have been studied as the Act is necessary for the development of the peace regime on the Korean peninsula.
○ The paper presents a general framework for the legislation direction, basic principles, key provisions, and overall structure based on an analysis of the legislative position, character, and functions of the「Basic Act on Inter-Korean Relations」.
▶ It presents directions for the key provisions of the legislation required for signing and performing the inter-Korean agreement, while indicating the problems with the current legislation of the inter-Korean agreement, which is the most important institutional device for regulating inter-Korean relations.
○ It also analyzes the causes of, and alternative solutions to, the key problems revealed in connection with the signing and performance of the current inter-Korea agreement.
○ It also presents the necessity for legislation of a new law, along with the basic principles and key provisions that should be reflected in the new law, based on the problems with the various provisions related to the current inter-Korean agreement.
- As regards the key regulatory provisions, it reviews and presents the principle of reciprocity and promotion of agreement-based legislation to ensure enforcement, effect and improvement on the definition clause of the inter-Korean agreement, the type of agreement based on the signing authority and procedure, and matters related to the report to and ratification by the National Assembly.
Ⅲ. Expected effects
○ As reference materials for legislative support by the government, this paper takes the initiative in studying and presenting the necessity for enactment or amendment, directions, basic principles, and key provisions of the laws in improving the current legislation that should be presented steadily in the process of developing a peace regime on the Korea peninsula.
○ The legislation on inter-Korean relations has so far remained an untouched area amid domestic legal circles. Preceding research has been performed separately in terms of domestic and international laws, and little macroscopic research has been conducted concerning the direction of legislation. As such, this paper is expected to provide unprecedented academic information.
○ As the current paper consists of an analysis of the related problems, it is also expected to function as a source of reference information for any amendment to the 「Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations」, new legislation concerning future inter-Korean agreements which are likely to be signed frequently, along with the future advancement of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.