환경법상 ‘해양쓰레기’ 개념의 필요성

Under the current legal system of the Republic of Korea, “marine litter (debris)” is not a legal term. In a situation where the national environmental administration is spatially separated by land and sea, the Ministry of Environment uses the term river and “estuarine waste” and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries uses “marine litter” in order to include a part of waste materials located in the transition area between land and sea. Although marine litter (debris) can be incorporated into the scope of waste in general, it is necessary to distinguish from each other theoretically and practically. The concept of the waste in environmental law focuses on the responsibility of the action from the polluter-pays principle. Meanwhile, the concept of marine litter (debris) underlines that the nature of location is close to sea and the state of matters is persistently solid due to the significance of the situation-responsibility (Zustandshaftung) and the principle of cooperation for appropriate management of marine litter (debris). The United States and Japan have already established a new legal term that is distinguished from existing terms of “waste” (“marine debris” in the United States and “海岸漂着物” in Japan) and have enacted a separate law for managing it. In the Republic of Korea, the term “marine litter” has been used in the administrative practice and related programs of marine litter management instead of the legal term “waste”. Under the current law, the concept of “marine litter (debris)” aims at extensive substance that is located in the overlapping area between “waste” and “contaminated soil” in terms of legal status. Given the geographic location of the Republic of Korea, which is surrounded by sea on three sides as a peninsular country, the role of marine litter (debris) management is relatively high in environmental administration. Therefore, it is significant for the central government to establish a distinguished legal term as “marine litter” in the fields of marine environment and to manage it systematically. Considering the situation of our country, “costal litter” can be used as substitute for “marine litter”, which is more rational from the perspectives of space and material. However, the term “marine litter”, which is widely used in the Republic of Korea, could be considered fair. Establishing the concept and scope of “marine litter (debris)” as a legal term is expected to be a foundation for building a customized administrative system. This will not only enhance disposal efficiency of marine litter (debris), but also facilitate a systematic environmental administration for investigation, prevention, and reduction of marine litter (debris). The enactment of this new legal term will provide a clear legal basis for promotion of a governance system for the marine litter management and cooperative relationships with local governments, related agencies, residents, and international organizations.