매장문화재 보호 제도의 문제점과 개선방안

Abstract

Protection of archaeological heritage is an obvious obligation of our nation defined in the Constitutional Act, the supreme law of Korea. Legislation of laws which are ground for the protection of archaeological heritage, and establishment and execution of systems and policies are the starting point and foundation for the protection of archaeological heritage. Systems and polices related to archaeological heritage and administrative decisions shall not be made as a temporary measure or a shield for national development, either. They should be in accordance with the basic principles of protection of archaeological heritage. However, current laws related to protection and investigation of archaeological heritage and their sub-laws have been reorganized and complemented with various regulations and laws related to archaeological heritage specified in Cultural Heritage Protection Act and guidelines for excavations according to the system of the laws. They have been enacted and amended focusing on investigations for restoration of heritage excavated due to various development projects. As a result, protection issue was overlooked in dealing with archaeological heritage, and there are frequent conflicts and disputes in application and interpretation of laws due to insufficient provisions in constitutional principles in terms of statutory forms and systematic arrangement of related laws and sub-laws, and gaps with reality. It is required to review and amend the laws related to protection and investigation of archaeological heritage and their sub-laws in full scale and as soon as possible in order to protect and manage archaeological heritage effectively including solving the problems raised in this study and improvement plans, and secure the clarification on application and interpretation of laws as well as corresponding to the constitutional principles regarding statutory forms and the principle of system legitimacy.