The Conflict between People's Rights and National Security in the Formulation and Implementation of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 논문은 미국 연방 정보자유법 (Freedom of Information Act)의 입법 및 집행과정에 반영된 국민의 권리 보호, 특히 국가 정보에 대한 국민의 알 권리와 국가 안전보장이라는 가치 간의 갈등을 규명하는데 목적을 둔다. 1966년 최초로 입법화된 연방 정보자유법은 미국에 있어 국민의 알 권리 및 공공정보에 대한 접근권의 가장 중요한 법적 근거가 되는바, 그 입법, 개정 및 집행과정에 있어 알 권리와 국가안보 관련 정보의 보호로 대표되는 두 가지 상반되는 가치 사이의 균형을 유지하기 위한 많은 노력이 입법부, 행정부, 시민 단체에 의해 계속되어 왔다.
최근 미국에서의 국가안보에 대해 새롭게 고조된 관심은 정보자유법의 시행과정에서 알 권리와 그 법적 근거에 많은 영향을 끼쳐왔다. 그 중에서도 가장 핵심적인 초점은 국가정보에 접근할 수 있는 권리를 포함한 국민의 자유에 대한 제한들이다. 그러한 영향은 9/11 테러사건 이후 정보자유법에 대한 최근의 입법 및 집행상의 변화와 더불어 정보공개정책의 근거에 가장 잘 반영되고 있다. 이러한 정책 변화는 정부 정보에 접근하는 공공의 권리와 국가 안보를 위한 정보공개 제한이라는 상반되는 가치 사이에 다양한 갈등을 초래하고 있다.
이러한 가치간 갈등과 갈등 해소를 위한 정책적인 노력은 50년 이상 북한과 군사적 대치관계에 있는 대한민국에 있어서도 중요한 함의를 갖는다. 그 대표적인 예로 2010년 천안함 침몰사건의 원인규명 과정과 2007년 아프가니스탄 인질사태 해결 과정에서 표출된 국가안보 관련 정보의 보호와 국민의 알 권리 사이의 첨예한 대립과 갈등을 들 수 있다. 따라서 향후 유사한 테러행위 및 국가안보에 대한 위협에 대비하여 정보공개법의 개정 및 보완을 포함한 면밀한 법적ㆍ제도적 보완책의 필요성이 절실히 제기되고 있는 실정이다. 본 논문은 이상의 주제를 중심으로 정보자유법의 제 관점, 입법과정의 개괄, 그리고 정보자유법을 둘러싼 여러 문제점들을 살펴봄으로써 미국 정보공개정책의 변화와 갈등의 내용을 고찰하였다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this paper is to examine debates on the value conflict between the protection of people's right, particularly public right of access to government information, and national security in the U.S. as reflected in changes of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the foundation of U.S. information access policy. Since 9/11 terrorist attacks, the increased concern regarding national security in the U.S. led to restrictions on people's right to know and FOIA on the legislative and administrative levels. In this paper, the recent amendments to FOIA and the changes in federal FOIA policies are examined through the investigation of perspectives regarding FOIA implementation, overview of legislation history, and issues on the FOIA amendments since 9/11.
The conflict between people's right to know and national security also have important implications and in South Korea, which has had a sharp confrontation with North Korea for more than 50 years. This was well-illustrated in the serious conflict concerning the restriction on right of access to sensitive government information which emerged during the investigation of 2010 sinking of the ROKS Cheonan. In order to resolve such conflicts in similar terrorism or military incidents in the future, efforts should be made to prepare legal and institutional mechanism. In order to resolve such conflicts in similar terrorism or military incidents in the future, efforts should be made to prepare legal and institutional mechanism including revisions of the Act of Disclosure of Information by Public Agencies, the central freedom of information law in South Korea. The studies of legal and political case on U.S. FOIA in this paper aims to help such efforts.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 【국문요약】
• Ⅰ. Introduction
• Ⅱ. Background and Legislation History
• Ⅲ. Literature Review on FOIA
• Ⅳ. Results and Implication
• Ⅴ. Conclusion and Suggestions
• Reference
• 【Abstract】

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