행정기본법상 법령해석제도의 행정입법에 대한 규범통제기능에 관한 연구

Statutory interpretation is not merely an intellectual activity of understanding and cognition; it also involves a volitional act aimed at achieving the correct norm, thereby possessing the character of normative control. This paper argues that the Korean Government Legislation Ministry’s system of statutory interpretation should function not only as an internal advisory tool or a means of ensuring uniform law enforcement within the executive branch, but also as a mechanism of abstract normative control that guarantees the coherence of the legal order under the Constitution. Since the 2005 enactment of the Regulation on the Management of Legislative Affairs, the scope of statutory interpretation has expanded to include citizens' requests. Furthermore, the 2021 enactment of the General Act on Pubic Administrative codified citizens’ rights to request statutory interpretation and imposed a legal obligation on administrative agencies to interpret subordinate statutes in conformity with superior laws. These developments have significantly enhanced the normative control function of statutory interpretation. Nevertheless, due to its historical origins and certain subordinate regulations, the normative control role of statutory interpretation has not been fully recognized in practice. This study conducts a systematic analysis of the General Act on Pubic Administrative and demonstrates that a legal foundation exists for statutory interpretation to operate as a form of abstract norm control. In particular, when the Ministry of Government Legislation issues recommendations for statutory revision in response to interpretation of administrative legislation — an area traditionally within the core authority of each ministry — such recommendations may produce outcomes that are more immediate and effective than those of judicial norm control. Thus, the normative control function of statutory interpretation becomes especially pronounced when it targets administrative legislation rather than statutory law enacted by the National Assembly. Comparative legal analysis reveals that most statutory interpretation systems in other jurisdictions restrict applicants to administrative agencies and do not respond to inquiries from citizens. In this context, Korea’s statutory interpretation system represents a unique institutional form of norm control. By analyzing actual interpretation cases, this paper examines how constitutionality and hierarchical legal coherence are realized through interpretive methodologies. It also highlights the de facto binding force and high acceptance rate of recommendations for legislative revision, especially in the realm of administrative legislation, thereby confirming the system’s status as an independent, expeditious, and non-judicial mechanism of norm control. Finally, the paper identifies legal and institutional barriers that hinder the realization of this function and proposes specific reforms, including: (1) abolition of provisions that reject interpretation requests concerning violations of superior law; (2) elevation of the legal status and procedural safeguards of the Statutory Interpretation Deliberation Committee; and (3) measures to enhance the effectiveness of statutory interpretation and follow-up recommendations. These reforms aim to enable the statutory interpretation system to fully realize its constitutional potential as a mechanism for securing legal coherence and administrative legality.