경찰 주재관 역할증대 및 재외국민 보호 강화방안 - 외교부 ‘해외안전 담당 영사’(임기제)와의 비교를 중심으로 -

Abstract

The Consular Assistance Act, which had long drifted from the National Assembly, was implemented as part 21.1.16, and various matters related to the state's consular assistance to protect the lives, bodies, and property of overseas Koreans were stipulated by law. As a result, the state can establish a more systematic and strengthened consular assistance system based on the law, and in particular, it serves as a clear legal basis for the activities of police consuls who perform the protection of overseas citizens at overseas missions. In the era of about 7.5 million overseas Koreans and 30 million overseas travelers, the range of activities of overseas Koreans and overseas travelers is expanding worldwide, and the need to protect them from the dangers of terrorism and crime in foreign countries and to support them not to be treated unfairly in foreign countries is also increasing. On the other hand, while the number of incidents and accidents related to overseas Koreans increased exponentially from 8,298 in 2015 to 16,335 in 2019 (decreased to 9,133 in 20 and 6,498 in 21 due to the impact of COVID-19), police consuls have only increased three over 11 years from 63 in 2012 to 66 (55 out of 188 overseas missions in 35 countries). In contrast, the number of consuls in charge of overseas safety at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hired 39 people in 2018, and as of 2023, 82 people have already exceeded the number of police consuls. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the problems of the current system in various ways, focusing on the comparison between the police consul general and the consular in charge of overseas safety of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and to suggest more realistic and feasible improvement measures to truly protect and strengthen the lives, bodies, and property of overseas Koreans.