사회보장과 헌법재판 - 주요 결정을 통해 본 의의와 과제 -

Abstract

This paper examines the significance and challenges of the constitutional adjudication in the area of social security through major decisions of the Constitutional Court. The Constitution of Korea has recognized social security as a national responsibility from the moment of its enactment until today. Along with general provisions on social security, the Constitution has special provisions for the socially underprivileged, including the poor and the disabled. The existence of these constitutional provisions seems to have had a significant impact on the constitutionality of social security law. The Constitutional Court has played an important role in protecting the people's right to social security over the past thirty years. The Constitutional Court not only confirmed the legal enforceability of the social basic rights, including the right to a humane livelihood, but also recognized social solidarity, which is the ideological basis of social security, as a constitutional principle. Through this, the Constitutional Court has made significant contributions to solidifying the constitutional basis of the social insurance system, the core of the social security system, and specifically protecting the rights of the socially underprivileged. In the f utur e, a p r actically impor tant t ask in t he theor y and pr actice of constitutional adjudication on social security is to clarify the specific contents of the r ight to a humane l ivelihood and the r ight to social secur ity, and to establish judicial review standards that can effectively guarantee the purpose of assuring these basic rights.