대한민국 정부 수립 초기 민간인 집단희생 사건 관련 법령에 대한 헌법적 이해 ―제주4·3사건과 여수·순천10·19사건을 중심으로―

Abstract

The period around 1948, before and after the establishment of the Republic of Korea government, was a time of extreme turmoil as various politically opposing views clashed over what form of independent nation should be rebuilt under the de facto influence of the United States, which held power under the banner of anti-communism on the Korean Peninsula in the Far East of Asia. The Constitution of the Republic of Korea was newly enacted as a legal reality that pursues justice, but the laws of the Japanese Governor-General and the US Army Military Government that were used to rule the Korean Peninsula also remained with social effect. These laws were in a state of potential contradiction that could conflict with the validity of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which was enacted by members of the Constituent Assembly elected solely from south of the 38th parallel on the Korean Peninsula. In January 2000, when the 21st century began, the Jeju April 3 Incident Special Act was enacted, in May 2005, the Framework Act on Settling the Past was enacted, and in July 2021, the Yeosu-Suncheon October 19 Incident Special Act was enacted. These laws connected the past to the present by ordering that history, which seems to have passed, not be left within the worldview of a certain power in a certain era, but be summoned to the present to discover the truth about human rights infringement due to the governmental power and to restore the honor of the victims. This article organizes in a diachronic and systematic manner the laws related to the proclamation of the US Army Military Government, martial law, suppression operations by military organizations, trials and punishments of civilians according to military law, and constant surveillance of the people's thoughts, as governmental powers exercised in the early stages of the Jeju April 3 Incident and Yeosu-Suncheon October 19 Incident, which were synchronically interconnected. A quarter of the 21st century is just around the corner. In the era of democracy, everyone finds a story of coexistence as public power is exercised within the scope of authority granted by law based on the support of the people and citizens. In order to realize the legal image of an independent, democratic, social, and constitutional state where all humans are free and equal, legal restrictions on existing ruling powers are essential. When the law does not forget the past history and constantly questions it, the injustice of a certain era or a certain power monopolizing the law cannot be repeated.