기본소득과 헌법 : 기본소득의 핵심적 특성에 따른 헌법적 쟁점을 중심으로

Basic income refers to a system that guarantees essential income necessary for the needs of life to all citizens by providing the same amount of cash on a regular basis without any consideration or condition. Basic income can be understood as a type of constitutional social right in that beneficiaries receive a certain amount of cash directly from the government, such as the basic pension paid to the elderly or the disability pension paid to the severely disabled. This is because the essence of constitutional social rights lies in the state’s financial support for things essential for human life, be it cash, goods, or services. It is also true that the idea of ​​basic income, which guarantees a certain amount of equal income to everyone, is misunderstood as a ‘totalitarian idea’ that contributes to the equalization or homogenization of everyone. However, basic income can be fully understood and explained in terms of ‘fundamental social rights’ guaranteed by the Constitution. However, in terms of the ‘universality’ of the subject or the ‘equality’ of the amount, questions may be raised about the nature of constitutional social rights included in basic income. In addition, criticism may be raised against attempts to understand basic income as a concrete way of forming constitutional social rights, given that the essence of basic income is ‘gratuitousness’ and that basic income can be combined with ‘sustainability’. However, it seems that these characteristics of universality, equality, gratuitousness, and continuity cannot serve as a decisive basis to refute the theory that basic income is a constitutional social right. This is because all constitutional social rights can be selectively combined with the characteristics of universality, equality, gratuitousness, and continuity by the legislator who specifically forms them.