Constitutional Policy Protection of North Korean Residents: Focusing on Improvement of North Korean Human Rights Act

This paper examines the protection of the constitutional rights of North Korean residents, focusing on ways to improve the North Korean Human Rights Act, which has faced various difficulties in enforcement, such as the failure to establish the North Korean Human Rights Foundation since its enactment in 2016. Despite the absence of effective control by our government over the area north of the Military Demarcation Line, the North Korean Human Rights Act was introduced through a difficult legislative process to realize the fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution that North Korean residents should universally enjoy as human beings. The North Korean Human Rights Act, consisting of 17 articles, has characteristics such as being a unification law and a foundation for a unification constitution, a product of political compromise, a concretization of fundamental rights norms in the North Korean region, an application of our Constitution to North Korean residents, and primarily an organizational law, which distinguish it from the North Korean human rights laws of the United States and Japan. Regarding individual provisions, the purpose and basic principles of the North Korean Human Rights Act, the definition of North Korean residents, and other provisions were analyzed and critiqued in light of the interpretation of our Constitution regarding North Korea and its residents. Furthermore, the operational status of major institutions and systems, such as the Advisory Committee on North Korean Human Rights, the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Plan, and the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, was pointed out. In particular, as the launch of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation has been delayed, causing various problems, it was emphasized that bipartisan consensus and active efforts for improvement by the National Assembly and the government are necessary in light of the goal of protecting the universal fundamental rights of North Korean residents. The problems and solutions of the dual system of the North Korean Human Rights Records Center and the North Korean Human Rights Records Repository, as well as the significance and limitations of the North Korean Human Rights Report, were also examined. Additionally, the introduction of new provisions was discussed, including the addition of North Korean sanctions measures, measures to promote freedom of information, the addition of criminal justice procedures, and the possibility of adding substantive content related to fundamental rights.