Constitutional Reform following the Changing Structure of Democracy Prof.Dr.jur. Seon-Taek Kim In the constitutional perspective, the concept of democracy is defined as a decision making system of state will which realizes "a government by the people"-principle. The core of democratic government is the concordance between the state will and the people's will. Representative democratic system has the systematical weakness because it allows the distinction between the organizing power of state organs by the people and the decision making power of state will by the representative organs on the one hand, and, permits the representative organs to make decisions different from the people's real will. Nevertheless what makes the representative democratic system inevitable was the actual conditions in the past. Nowadays the actual conditions, on which democracy depends, are fundamentally changed. Socially and technologically, we live already in the information society and experience e-democracy in various forms. Politically civil society has developed and democratic participation increased. The difficulties of state decision making by all the people, which was due to the large territory and many people, was overcome. The development of information technology and the increase of democratic participation strengthened so much the capacities of civil society that it sometimes exceeds over the capacities of state. Now the democratic system in which people in the civil society participate in the decision making of state will becomes the needs of the times. The so-called ‘Participatory government' under the President Noh introduced several experimental policies which guarantees direct or indirect participation of the people. For example, election system for a 'government official' candidates of political parties, in which people are allowed to participate, governance system in which state and civil society decide together, and the legislation of direct democratic institutions on the local level are noteworthy. But these experimental policies by the ‘Participatory government' are in the strained relations with the basic frame of representative democratic system which is provided in Korean Constitution. The point is not whether experimental policies by the ‘Participatory government' are consistent with the acting Constitution, but that those are unavoidable requisite of the times. Therefore the paradigm-shift from decision making system of state will by representative democratic system to decision making system of state will by participatory democratic system in order to enhance epochally the democratic participation of the people is requested. In this study, as an orientation of constitutional reform, I suggested three kinds of democratic participation paradigm. Firstly, the expansion of direct democracy through the incorporation of referendum, initiative, recall into the Constitution can be considered. Secondly, the co-decision system of state and civil society which provides a round table discussion for members from the state and the civil society, resulting in the conclusion of a social agreement between them, seems to be necessary. Thirdly, a concept of 'decision by the civil society and execution by the state' is discussed. According to this concept, the committee which is constituted of members from the civil society makes a decision, and the state adopts and carries it out.

Constitutional Reform following the Changing Structure of Democracy Prof.Dr.jur. Seon-Taek Kim In the constitutional perspective, the concept of democracy is defined as a decision making system of state will which realizes "a government by the people"-principle. The core of democratic government is the concordance between the state will and the people's will. Representative democratic system has the systematical weakness because it allows the distinction between the organizing power of state organs by the people and the decision making power of state will by the representative organs on the one hand, and, permits the representative organs to make decisions different from the people's real will. Nevertheless what makes the representative democratic system inevitable was the actual conditions in the past. Nowadays the actual conditions, on which democracy depends, are fundamentally changed. Socially and technologically, we live already in the information society and experience e-democracy in various forms. Politically civil society has developed and democratic participation increased. The difficulties of state decision making by all the people, which was due to the large territory and many people, was overcome. The development of information technology and the increase of democratic participation strengthened so much the capacities of civil society that it sometimes exceeds over the capacities of state. Now the democratic system in which people in the civil society participate in the decision making of state will becomes the needs of the times. The so-called ‘Participatory government' under the President Noh introduced several experimental policies which guarantees direct or indirect participation of the people. For example, election system for a 'government official' candidates of political parties, in which people are allowed to participate, governance system in which state and civil society decide together, and the legislation of direct democratic institutions on the local level are noteworthy. But these experimental policies by the ‘Participatory government' are in the strained relations with the basic frame of representative democratic system which is provided in Korean Constitution. The point is not whether experimental policies by the ‘Participatory government' are consistent with the acting Constitution, but that those are unavoidable requisite of the times. Therefore the paradigm-shift from decision making system of state will by representative democratic system to decision making system of state will by participatory democratic system in order to enhance epochally the democratic participation of the people is requested. In this study, as an orientation of constitutional reform, I suggested three kinds of democratic participation paradigm. Firstly, the expansion of direct democracy through the incorporation of referendum, initiative, recall into the Constitution can be considered. Secondly, the co-decision system of state and civil society which provides a round table discussion for members from the state and the civil society, resulting in the conclusion of a social agreement between them, seems to be necessary. Thirdly, a concept of 'decision by the civil society and execution by the state' is discussed. According to this concept, the committee which is constituted of members from the civil society makes a decision, and the state adopts and carries it out.

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Representative democratic system, Democracy, Participatory democratic system, Constitutional Reform, Direct democratic system, Governance