현행 자원봉사활동 기본법 상 자원봉사활동 활성화를 위한 법적 제고 방안

Abstract

Volunteer work refers to work for a person, country, or society by investing one’s time and energy willingly and autonomous. However, there have been some issues in volunteer works based on the current fundamental law. First of all, the effectiveness (or rate of practice) of the volunteer work is deteriorating. This is caused by the lack of structured system in the administration of volunteer work, conflicting policies between departments, insufficient cooperation between the private and public sector, and the lack of expertise. Furthermore, the rate of participation of volunteers is decreasing. This is caused by a lack of interest in volunteering work in the public which make most of the volunteers involuntary and temporary visitors. In addition, some volunteers have the ulterior motive to do political activities in the name of volunteering. The prohibition and permission of political activities become vague when it comes to volunteering work, and there are fewer cases where the legal penalty is practiced for violation. Other reasons for the decreased effectiveness is the lack of autonomy of volunteer centers in local governments. The administrative and financial management and control by the local government are practiced in the form of authority and regulation. Furthermore, there have been a few cases where participants could not certify their volunteer work or failed to receive compensation in the case of an accident. Therefore, to resolve these issues, first of all, the volunteering policy should be legitimized through systemization. Establishing a unified system in each department in the process of policing is a must coupled with strengthening cooperative system between the private and public sector and specializing in the relevant field. Second, it is important to define the fundamental values of volunteering to increase the participation of volunteers. At the national level, the value of volunteering work must be promoted for citizens, encouraging the value as a way of solving social problems and to develop a civil society. Third, the political neutrality must be guaranteed for the volunteers for the election according to the Public Official Election Act. In other words, the permitted and prohibited activities in the election campaign must be defined clearly while any violation of the regulation leads to a strict legal penalty. Fourth, it is important to secure the autonomy of volunteering centers. It is crucial to secure autonomy in all processes of implementing and operating volunteering centers, managing and training volunteers, and establishing a cooperative system between the public and private sector. Fifth, the volunteers should be protected from unavoidable or unpredictable accidents during the volunteering activities. The volunteers should be covered by accident insurance mandatorily, have preparatory training on risks, and receive sufficient amount of compensation in the case of accidents. Moreover, strengthening the effectiveness of the volunteering work requires securing of sufficient budget.