우주자원법 제정의 필요성 검토

The use of space technologies is being emphasised as a response to the risk of fossil fuel depletion and climate crisis. In particular, there is a growing need for private sector-led commercial development and utilisation of space resources. Despite the industry's constant calls for the norms and governance frameworks to create investment conditions and ensure stability and predictability of business, such normative frameworks are not yet in place. The normativity of the current Outer Space Treaty regime for the commercial development and utilisation of space resources is a matter of debate. Whether the non-appropriation principle applies to private persons is a matter of intense debate, but national legislation has been based on the argument that it does not apply to persons or entities other than States. The conflicting views on the ownership of private persons and the relationship between states are clearly in need of resolution, and a global normative and governing framework to regulate the development and utilisation of space resources by private parties, particularly for commercial purposes, must be developed as soon as possible. In the absence of global consensus, individual national legislation and the subsequent competition for the development and utilisation of space resources by individuals will inevitably result in serious conflict. UNCOPUOS has established and is working on a Working Group for 2021 based on the need to develop global norms for the commercial development and utilisation of space resources. In Korea, not only the development and utilisation of space resources is something that must be promoted, but also something that must be hastened. While the development of science and technology is important, the development of norms and economic support measures that reflect the needs of commercial actors is also urgently needed. In the absence of global consensus, some national legislation is inevitable, but such legislation can also serve as a basis for global norms. The globalisation of national laws as norms for the commercial exploitation of space resources could have enormous positive economic implications. It is necessary to identify ways to resolve the restrictions of the 'non-appropriation' principle in Article II of the Outer Space Treaty in an amicable manner, and to prepare norms related to space resources through the pooling of domestic collective intelligence in order to take the lead in entering the space economy through global normatisation of domestic laws.