국어기본법의 위헌성에 관한 연구: 한글전용의 강제를 중심으로

Abstract

This article is designed to support the claim that Kukokibonbop (Basic Act for Korean National Language) providing for Hangul (Korean alphabet) only policy in writing is unconstitutional and thus null and void. Korean language, the common language for Koreans, is the integral part of Korean constitution despite lack of express provision (i.e., a customary constitutional law). For the people of Korea, the sovereign power holder of Korea, is no other than the people that are using Korean language. Kukokibonbop, the National Assembly’s legislation, violates the Korean language related customary constitutional law, Constitution Article 9 providing for the state’s responsibility to inherit and develope traditional culture and to endeavor the development of national culture, the state’s responsibility to provide the best possible education to the people (Constitution Article 31, etc.), the people’s right to education, to develop oneself and to persue one’s happiness, and perhaps judicial independence as well, through its provisions of compulsory Hangul only policy for official document of broadly defined public organizations and for elementary, junior and senior high school education by means of their textbooks and others. Moreover, the statutory compulsory Hangul only policy for its constitutional justification fails to satisfy any of the two requirements of Article 37 Section 2, rationality requirement or stricter necessity requirement, because the policy is by no means rational nor strictly necessary for the realization of the purposes or public interests pronounced in the very Basic Act’s purpose clause (Article 1). The Basic Act Article 1 announced purposes include promotion of people’s creative thinking, improvement of the quality of people’s cultural life, and contribution to the development of the national culture. About 70% of Korean vocabularies and more than 90% of advanced academic and professional vocabularies are traditionally created for their meanings and sounds by using of Chinese characters. Thus, using of Chinese characters has been also integral part of Korean language and culture. Naturally one encounters difficulties in understanding sophisticated Korean language and culture fully without knowledge of Chinese characters. For better communication with Koreans, therefore, learning of Chinese character is necessary. The traditional, so-called combined use of both Hangul-Chinese characters policy serves realization of the Basic Act provided purposes actually far better, and is thus far more rational, than Hangul only policy. The Hangul only policy functions well in reducing simple illiteracy rate. The Hangul only policy, a pet leftist policy, however, tends to lead from functional illiteracy to mobocracy, which is a favorable factor for rise of dictatorial regime as attested by North Korean example. Spontaneous changes in language including writing system may take place along with social changes. Intentional changes in national language as dictated by the state legislation in violation of constitutional rules and principles are, however, by no means constitutionally right and thus should be declared unconstitutional and null and void.