뉴 스페이스 시대의 우주무기화에 대한 국제법적 고찰: 국제인도법 원칙을 중심으로

Space development, which started in earnest from the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, has now entered the so-called New-Space era. Private entities are playing a more leading role in the development of the outer space than the militaries and governments. This New-Space will bring more convenience and benefits to our lives. Meanwhile, as we has become more dependent on space, our vulnerability to the space environment is getting bigger. Low-Earth orbit is experiencing unprecedented congestion due to the increase in the number of newly launched satellites and junk satellites that do not work any more. This vulnerability will be further exacerbated by the space-weaponization movements where states seek to gain space superiority by using space militarily. Under these circumstances, if an armed conflict take place in the outer space, collateral damage to the civilian sector is highly likely to occur. Therefore, a careful approach is required in selecting the target, means, and method of attack in an armed conflict in the outer space. We should consider the most important norms under international humanitarian law. These are the principle of distinction, the principle of proportionality, the principle of prevention, and the principle of prohibition of indiscriminate attacks. A person planning an armed attack should make a clear distinction between military satellites and commercial satellites in determining the target of the attack and can attack only on military objectives that makes an effective contribution to military activities in nature, location, purpose, and use, and that bring definite advantages to the armed forces. In addition, in case of attacking a dual-use space object which serves as commercial and military purposes, a person planning the attack should consider the damage to the civilian sector. Furthermore, all practicable measures should be taken to avoid and minimize such collateral damage, and indiscriminate attack is also prohibited. In terms of methods of attack, various attack methods such as directed energy weapons, electromagnetic pulse attack weapons, electronic attack weapons, and cyber attacks have been developed to be used in the outer space as well as the kinetic ASAT weapons. Kinetic ASAT attacks that generate a large amount of space debris should be avoided because the damage to civilians and civilian objects by space debris can be huge. Therefore, an attack in the outer space should be conducted in a non-kinetic method. Even among the non-kinetic methods, only those methods that temporarily disrupt or disable the function of a satellite should be permitted in order to minimize the damage to civilians while achieving military objectives.