디지털 통상규범과 ‘안보’의 해석에 관한 소고

As countries around the world are simultaneously pursuing the development of their digital economies but also the establishment of thorough national security, their security strategies are having significant impact on digital trade rules, with the expansion of the concept on ‘security’. Furthermore, the traditional 'national security exception' clause requires a different perspective in digital trade, which is different from conventional international trade law. Thus,, this article analyzes the interrelationship between the digital trade rules and security along with the changes in the concept of security and the purposes of digital trade rules. In addition, for an objective and balanced interpretation that takes into account the recent development of security, this article proposes the following four points on how security can be reasonably addressed and interpreted within the digital trade rules. First, the definition and scope of the term 'essential security interests' could be further clarified, and consideration could be given to adding a necessity requirement that the information provided by a state is to protect 'essential' security interests. Second, institutionalizing the national security exception as a mechanism to prevent the abuse of the national security exception in relation to refusal to provide information would further enhance the transparency of the digital trade rules and reassess their credibility. Third, the concept of ‘public security,’ which has emerged in light of the potential for abuse of the national security exception and the inability of traditional examples of ‘legitimate policy objectives’ to prevent a range of emerging security threats, will allow for a new security lens through which to interpret the digital trade rules. Fourth, the new approach to adopt ‘taking into account the evolutionary nature of digital technologies’ in the application of the general exceptions in the EU-New Zealand FTA and the EU-Japan EPA should be considered. As it is difficult to incorporate the recently expanded concept of security through a literal interpretation, a more modernized interpretation would be possible by requiring the interpretation to "take into account the evolutionary nature of digital technologies.