헌법전문의 의의와 제헌헌법 전문의 ‘기미 3･1운동으로 대한민국을 건립’의 의미

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In the preamble of the 1948 Constitution of Korea, it is stated, “”We, the people of Korea, with a glorious history and tradition, having established the Republic of Korea through the March 1st Movement and proclaimed it to the world, inherit the great spirit of independence and now, in rebuilding a democratic and independent state… enact this Constitution.”<BR/> The preamble, while part of the entire Constitution, serves as the “constitution of the constitution,” providing a standard for interpreting the text of the Constitution and its laws. The reason why Korea’s history and origins are specifically mentioned in this preamble is due to the unique historical context of Korea’s illegal colonization by Japan. Through this, the Korean people confirmed that the Republic of Korea in 1948 was a reconstruction of the Republic established through the March 1st Movement of 1919 and inherited its spirit of independence. At the same time, they sought to prevent any alternative interpretations of the founding of the Republic and the legacy of its independence spirit.<BR/> The essence of the March 1st Movement of 1919 was a democratic revolution, and the product of this revolution was the establishment of the Provisional Constitution and the Provisional Government of Korea. Of course, as implied by the term “provisional,” both the Provisional Government and the Constitution had clear limitations. However, the Provisional Government, established through the March 1st Movement, symbolized the unyielding spirit of independence of the Korean people, and it remains the spiritual home, as well as the historical and constitutional root, of the Republic of Korea. <BR/> Furthermore, the preamble of the 1948 Constitution carries a retrospective recognition of the national status of the 1919 Republic of Korea, which was provisional in nature. This confirms that the present Republic of Korea maintains a national continuity with the Republic founded in 1919. By clarifying the nation’s history and roots in the preamble of the Constitution, the Korean people asserted that the Republic of Korea did not emerge out of a vacuum in 1948, nor was it simply established as a result of Japan’s defeat. Rather, the people themselves affirmed that the founding of the Republic of Korea was rooted in the nation established through the March 1st Movement of 1919, which has a legitimate and continuous national identity.<BR/> The constitutional spirit of the March 1st Movement and the Provisional Government, as confirmed in the preamble, affirms that Japan’s colonial rule over Korea before 1945 was illegal. It also emphasizes that during the period of Japanese occupation, Koreans were not subjects of the Japanese Empire that oppressed them but were, in fact, the sovereign citizens of a democratic republic founded through the March 1st Movement in 1919.