전통시장의 화재보험 활성화를 위한 법정책적 고찰

Abstract

Korea's traditional markets have many problems. Due to the old age, lack of safety facilities, and poor management of the markets, high risks of fires persist and are developing into large-scale damages. Despite the ongoing support and efforts of the government and the local governments to improve the market facilities, fire accidents are constantly being repeated. The country should continue to make efforts to modernize the facilities of the traditional markets and strengthen the education and promotion directed towards market merchants. And, by checking the fire safety of the markets, the country should encourage and support traders to manage the safety of the markets on their own. But most importantly, the country must also establish an institutional method to quickly recover from the damage caused by the traditional market fires. During the process of modernization and commercialization of civilian lives through the development of the Korean economy, the traditional markets have become stagnant and underdeveloped. However, it is certain that our past and present coexist together in traditional markets, and that market merchants are people that we must live this era together with. Furthermore, we need to be interested in the various proper social functions that cannot be experienced in the ever-expanding and colorful modern large-scale marketplaces. The status of fire insurance coverage and compensation of fire insurance has been reviewed, including the characteristics and the occurrence of traditional market fires. It has been found that it is necessary for the fire insurance to be activated. The status of legislation related to fire, one of the major disasters in traditional markets, has also been reviewed. The only legal provision for the activation of fire insurance in traditional markets is Fire Cooperative, which is a voluntary insurance under the Special Act on the Development of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts. According to the regulations, the rate of insurance registration of market merchants has been found to be very low due to the fact that the insured amount in case of fire was too small. The Act on the Indemnification for Fire-Caused Loss and the Purchase of Insurance Policies, Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, Special Act on the Safety Control of Publicly Used Establishments, Act on Fire Prevention and Installation, Maintenance, and Safety Control of Fire-Fighting Systems are also related to fire insurance in traditional markets, but they all have been proven insufficient in improving the rate of fire insurance registration of small-scale market merchants. In order to improve the unfavorable situation of the traditional Korean markets, insurance obligations of merchants must to be strengthened, the selectable types of insurance products must be diversified, and insurance rates must be discounted or the government or local government must provide supports in regards to premiums. If it is difficult to make it obligatory for market merchants to purchase fire insurance, it is necessary to introduce a Policy Insurance System. In order to introduce these systems, the government or local governments have to enact and amend relevant laws to provide legal basis with a firm intention of doing so, as it is not possible under the current law. However, activating the fire insurance is not enough to strengthen the safety of traditional markets. At the same time, the poor market structures and facilities of the old market should be upgraded, providing safety facilities for preventing fires and disasters. There is a need to raise awareness of merchants by continually educating and letting them know about disasters. In addition, fire safety inspections should be carried out periodically in order to enable the merchants to conduct safety management on their own. To this end, the government or local governments must take problem of modernizing our traditional markets very seriously and try to take countermeasures boldly.