북한이탈주민의 보호 및 정착지원에 관한 법률에 대한 고찰 - 국내법적 논의를 중심으로 -

‘Act On The Protection And Settlement Support Of Residents Escaping From North Korea’ was enacted to protect and support North Korean defectors to adapt for every area including politics, economy, society, culture because of the rapid growth of North Korean defectors. In order to achieve these legislative purpose ‘Act On The Protection And Settlement Support Of Residents Escaping From North Korea’ has revised several times but still there are something to be desired. First of all, current ‘Act On The Protection And Settlement Support Of Residents Escaping From North Korea’ adhere to the direct application principle and this position represents the acceptable limits of all North Korean defectors. Secondly, although this act include a variety of regulatory protection and support program for defectors basically it is the responsibility of state to perform. So even when the defectors residents of municipalities may experience problems that the role of local government is limited. In order to solve these problems, the contents of the ‘Act On The Protection And Settlement Support Of Residents Escaping From North Korea’ must be reorganized in the direction of the state and local government that share a mutual role. Ultimately, the act need to declare that the North Korean defectors are the people of the Republic of Korea in order to strengthen the protection of North Korean defectors. And to improve awareness about the defector for the community members, there need to take the effort of continuing education and outreach. With these improvements ‘Act On The Protection And Settlement Support Of Residents Escaping From North Korea’ can function as a practical device to contribute to the successful settlement of North Korean defectors and social integration of Republic of Korea.