국제법상 한국의 계속성: 한반도 통일에의 함의

State continuity under international law has been acquired through a process of claims and recognition. This means that it is important that State establishes self-identification and keeps its position consistently and that it is transmitted to the level of international law. In this respect, the issue of 'founding of a State', which has been raised domestically, is of concern. If the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in 1919 or the establishment of the Government of the Republic of Korea in 1948 is regarded as the formation of a new State in international legal sense, it would result in the recognition that the Great Korean Empire had been extinguished by the forced annexation of Japan in 1910. The issue of 'founding of a State' has a direct relationship with the legal status of the two Koreas and the unification of the Korean peninsula as well as the illegality of Japan's colonization of Korea. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a position in the direction of contributing to the unification of the two Koreas, and consistently maintain such a position. In this context, this article examines the continuity of Korea in international law through a review of the concept of continuity in international law and the discussion on the relationship between the Great Korean Empire and the Republic of Korea. Furthermore, this article examines the implication of the continuity of Korea in international law regarding the unification of the Korean peninsula, assuming that the two Koreas ultimately form one State.