헌법상 국가책무의 제도화와 민주시민교육: 평화통일 민주시민교육법의 입법구성을 중심으로

This study proceeds from the constitutional premise that Article 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea imposes upon the State a duty to pursue peaceful unification. Rather than treating peace-unification democratic civic education as a contingent policy initiative, this article conceptualizes it as an object of constitution-shaping (Gestaltende) legislation and proposes an institutional design for a hypothetical Peace Unification Democratic Civic Education Act. The central argument is that the existing statutory framework fails to ensure the continuous and binding internalization of such education within the ordinary legal order. The current Act on Support for Unification Education operates primarily through an administrative coordination model centered on the Ministry of Unification’s basic plans. In particular, Article 8(2) establishes a conditional duty structure under which curricular reflection occurs only upon the Minister’s “request.” Although this mechanism facilitates inter-ministerial coordination, it does not structurally guarantee the sustained incorporation of unification-related civic education into the national curriculum. Nor does it sufficiently secure its integration with assessment systems, teacher professional development, or stable fiscal foundations. Consequently, unification education remains vulnerable to shifting policy priorities and administrative discretion, undermining its character as a constitutionally grounded and enduring state responsibility. To overcome these structural limitations, this study develops a legislative model grounded in Articles 4, 31, 37(2), 7(1), and 92 of the Constitution. First, it proposes a governance structure that combines central constitutional standard-setting with decentralized implementation, including the establishment of an independent coordinating body responsible for articulating long-term normative guidelines while respecting educational autonomy. Second, it designs a dual implementation framework reflecting the constitutional distinction between educational autonomy and general local autonomy, thereby ensuring coherent operation across school-based and lifelong education sectors. Third, it differentiates the scope and intensity of educational duties according to the constitutional status of addressees—students in compulsory education, public officials and teachers as constitutional functionaries, and adult citizens as rights-holders—thus aligning legislative design with proportionality requirements. Fourth, it emphasizes the legalization of fiscal foundations and parliamentary oversight to secure sustainability beyond discretionary annual budgeting. Finally, it situates peace-unification civic education within a broader constitutional trajectory by linking it to a potential future unification-constitution phase as an institutional foundation for democratic continuity. By shifting the focus from normative justification to institutional design, this study advances a concrete legislative model for embedding a constitutional state duty within Korea’s educational and governance structure in a sustainable and structurally coherent manner.