헌법해석갈등의 현실과 접점의 모색 : 사법판단 영역을 중심으로

The Constitutional Court of Korea plays a significant role in solving social conflicts after its foundation under the Constitution and substantial democratization in 1987. Whereas the authoritarian powers and the resisting ideologies battled in the political fields in the past, their successors compete on persuasive constitutional interpretations in the legal fields with stable constitutional politics now. After democratization, liberals and conservatives have struggled for concrete constitutional supremacy of interpretations. It means they use their best endeavors to acquire an authoritative interpretation to justify their own ideological interests and criticize competitors. To make this political game fair and complete, the players should know the identity of their counterparts in theoretical and practical ways. This article tries to illuminate that we have more common grounds of coexistence for liberals and conservatives, theoretically and practically, in terms of the elements of classical liberalism that was founded by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke: refusal of absolute governmental power and abolition of privileges. In Korea, the history of constitutional politics shows that liberals and conservatives can include this classical liberalism in their own ideologies, and that they can agree with the opponent's political projects based on this ideal of classical liberalism. Constitutional interpretations do not support an absolutely one-sided approach, or a political makeshift, either. Liberalism and democracy work together for social integrity and development based on constitutional interpretations that even different ideologies can understand by respecting the other.