디지털 시대의 민주주의 ― 대의민주주의의 의의를 중심으로 ―

The development of information and communications technology has been so phenomenal in the past few decades that a highly automated intelligent information society is emerging. Such a trend is expected to bring about significant changes in politics and law, and it is difficult to determine whether the direction of such changes will be positive. Although technological change has a profound impact on human life, it is not yet decisive enough to fundamentally change human beings themselves; further, while improving people’s usual behaviors in a more sophisticated and developed way, it also encourages the emergence of more negative issues that were previously unimaginable. Meanwhile, such intensification of the digital era is also expected to be an opportunity to drastically increase the democratic powers of people, allowing them to directly participate in the formation of public opinion over state affairs and in the decision-making process on government policies. In fact, currently, the developing technological conditions seem to be creating circumstances that redefine an individual's position as the main agent of information activities. In Iceland and Ireland, for example, the respective governments took advantage of such changes to actively promote the direct participation of the public in constitutional amendments. However, from the perspective of a liberal democratic state's governing order based on representative democracy, a close examination is required on whether such a change can only be positive. It is desirable that advanced technology promotes the formation of public opinion by enhancing the possibility of making the collection, processing, and dissemination of information open and decentralized; this expands the room for communication over national affairs, with current news available to the public more transparently and quickly. However, it is not appropriate to replace the representatives of the general public with a process that simply reflects social preferences and tendencies that are not subject to the corresponding normative control. The development of science and technology and the concomitant change of society shall serve as the basis for devising and implementing effective measures to embody normative ideals through careful analysis and review and thus realize a free democratic constitutional order.