「지방자치법」상 ‘주민’(住民)의 개념 ― 지방자치법 제138조의 분담금 부과･징수대상이 되는 주민 개념과 관련하여 ―

Local governments shall deal with administrative matters pertaining to the welfare of local residents, manage properties, and may enact provisions relating to local autonomy, within the limit of Acts and subordinate statutes(Constitution of the Republic of Korea §117(1)). Persons who have domicile within the jurisdiction of a local government shall be residents of such local government(Local Autonomy Act §12). Residents shall have the right to use the property and public facilities of their local governments, and to benefit equally from the administration of their local governments as prescribed by statutes. And residents who are Korean nationals shall have the right to participate in the elections of the members of local councils and the heads of local governments held by such local governments as prescribed by statutes(Local Autonomy Act §13). In addition, the legal status of a person depends on whether he shall be recognized as a residents because the local autonomy law recognizes various rights and duties to the residents. For example, Local Autonomy Act §138 stipulates that “If certain residents receive a special benefit from the establishment of a local government’s property or public facilities, the local government may collect a contribution from the residents benefiting therefrom, to the extent of their benefit.” Even though someone receives a special benefit from the establishment of a local government’s property or public facilities, the local government can not collect a contribution from the person, if he is not a resident of the local government. This is the case can be an important issue in the legal relationship. Therefore, it is important to define the concept of residents accurately. For that, we used comparative method with the German law and Japanese law. As a result, the concept of residents is distinguished by two concepts of ‘inhabitants’ and ‘citizens’, and the legal status of residents is also different from that of inhabitants and citizens. This distinction is widely recognized in Korea as well. In this study, based on the distinction between inhabitants and citizens, it is suggested that the concept of residents need to be understood not only as a resident registration card but also as a basis for actual life or business even if there is no resident registration. The concept of the residents can be understood differently according to each clause of the Local Autonomy Law, and ultimately it is necessary to improve the concept of the residents through legislation.