공생사회에 있어서 주민 개념과 외국인의 법적 지위에 관한 공법적 고찰

Korea is currently confronted with complex demographic transformations, including rapid low fertility and population ageing, the outflow of population from local regions and the growing risk of regional extinction, and persistent structural labour shortages. In response, the inflow of foreign workers and the expansion of long-term foreign residents have emerged as important policy instruments. This reality makes it no longer appropriate to regard foreigners merely as temporary sojourners or peripheral actors, and it underscores the need to reconstruct the legal status of long-term foreign residents from a public law perspective. In particular, in a contemporary society that aspires to coexistence and multiculturalism, the question of whether foreigners should continue to be positioned as “outsiders to the citizenry,” grounded in traditional theories of popular sovereignty, or be recognised as members of local communities with corresponding rights and status, has become a core legal and institutional issue that extends beyond population and regional policy. Against this background, this study first examines the scope and requirements of “nationals” under the Constitution and the Nationality Act, and classifies foreigners into broad and narrow categories based on the structure of nationality acquisition—birth, acknowledgment, naturalisation—and the regulation of dual nationality. In particular, foreigners who reside in Korea on a mid- to long-term basis and establish substantial social and economic ties are conceptualised as “foreign residents,” whose legal position cannot be explained solely by the absence of nationality. Second, by using Article 12 of the Local Autonomy Act as a point of departure, the study analyses how the legal concept of “resident” extends beyond the formal criterion of address registration and varies functionally depending on the objectives of individual statutes—such as suffrage, participatory mechanisms, social security, and tax obligations. This demonstrates that the resident concept does not inherently exclude foreigners but may flexibly encompass foreign residents depending on legislative policy choices. Third, the study reviews the legal status of foreigners by analysing the rights granted or restricted under domestic law, including suffrage, eligibility for public office, and entitlement to social security. While foreigners are constitutionally excluded from national-level suffrage and candidacy, the study confirms that those who have acquired permanent residence and resided for a prescribed period are granted limited voting rights in local elections and local referenda. Furthermore, an examination of Article 26-3 of the State Public Officials Act and the Presidential Decree on the Appointment of Public Officials, together with the tension between the reciprocity principle under Article 8 of the Framework Act on Social Security and the equality principle underlying labour and social insurance legislation, reveals that the legal position of foreigners in the fields of social security and labour remains partial and fragmented. Fourth, the study analyses Korea’s foreign workforce policies amid low fertility, population ageing, and global technological competition. It identifies the limitations of policies long focused on low-skilled labour, the weak linkage between labour-migration systems and settlement or social-welfare policies, and the institutional gaps highlighted through comparison with Japan. This shows that Korea’s foreign manpower policy remains centred on securing labour rather than integrating long-term foreign residents as members of a coexistent society. Taken together, the study argues that discussions on the legal status of foreigners must move beyond the traditional question of national-level suffrage and instead re-examine the normative framework of public law more broadly, including the reconstruction of the resident concept, the guarantee of rights in the areas of social security, labour, and welfare, and the enhancement of participation in local governance. While state-constituting political rights such as national-level suffrage and candidacy may remain reserved for citizens, broader protection and institutional coherence are required for long-term foreign residents in areas such as social security, access to public services, and local participatory mechanisms. Finally, the study suggests that the mechanical or exclusionary application of the reciprocity principle should be reconsidered, and that the legal status of foreign residents should be progressively redesigned in accordance with constitutional values of human rights and the realisation of a coexistent society.