우리나라가 각국과의 자유무역협정을 서두르고 있다. 정부는 미국에 이어 유럽연합과 협정을 사실상 마무리했다. 또 캐나다, 멕시코, 호주 등과도 동시다발적인 자유무역협정 체결에 나서고 있다. 전세계적으로 다양한 국가와 동시다발적으로 자유무역협정을 추진중인 국가는 우리나라가 유일하다 하겠다. 우리나라가 추진하는 자유무역협정이 모두 성공적으로 마무리될 경우, 한국은 지구 인구의 50%이상 차지하는 국가들과 자유무역을 하게 되는 셈이다. 그렇게 될 경우 우리나라의 세계적 위상은 높아지겠지만, 교류확대에 따른 위험부담도 그만큼 커질 수 밖에 없다. 국제교류환경에 빈번히 노출된다는 것은 국경을 넘은 환경피해의 희생자가 될 가능성도 많아진다는 것을 의미한다. 국제사회의 변화무쌍함을 감안할 때 우리나라가 환경피해의 가해자가 될지 아니면 피해자가 될지는 누구도 예측할 수 없다. 초국경 환경피해에 대한 국가책임은 국제관습법, 국제조약, 유엔 국제법위원회의 국가책임규정 초안 등을 통해 어느정도 확립됐다. 타국의 환경을 오염시켜 피해를 끼칠 경우 국가책임이 성립한다는 것은 전통적 국가책임이론으로부터 유추할 수 있다. 그러나 국가책임문제는 불법행위와 피해간의 인과관계의 규명의 어려움, 주권침해의 소지, 충분하고 만족스러운 구제방법의 부존재, 피해액 산정의 어려움, 국가간 마찰의 야기 등으로 종국적인 분쟁해결의 수단으로 삼기에는 한계가 있을 수 밖에 없다. 결과적으로 초국경 환경피해는 문제가 발생하기 전에 예방적 규제책을 마련하는 것이 최선이다. 초국경 환경피해를 예방하려면 당사국에게 부정적 영향을 미칠 수 있는 계획이나 조치에 대한 통지의무 등이 구체적으로 마련되어야 한다. 덧붙여 관련된 자료와 정보의 제공, 정기적인 교환의무 등이 포함되어져야 한다. 협약체결에 앞서 당사국간 위기의식의 공유와 환경문제 해결을 위한 공동노력도 필요하다. 환경문제의 객관적 정보 수집 및 공유, 오염원에 대한 대응방안연구, 대응방안과 관련된 각국의 수행의무 등도 구체적으로 논의되어야 한다. 이러한 절차를 토대로 이행감독을 제도적 장치 설정과 구체적 협약 또는 추가 의정서 등이 체결되어야 할 것이다. 점진적으로 구속력없는 합의에서 시작해 구속력있는 국가간 협약으로 이끌어가는 것이 효과적인 방식이다. 중국과의 황사문제 해결 역시 환경협약 체결로 가는 단계적 접근방식을 통해 가능할 것으로 보여진다. 중국과의 환경협약 체결은 무역과 통상협상과 연계해 추진하는 것이 합리적이다. 한중 자유무역협정은 빠른 시일내에 체결이 가능할 것으로 기대된다. 이에 맞춰 환경협약을 체결할 경우 양국간 환경이슈를 해결하는 효율적 해결책이 될 것이다. 양국간 국가책임 여부를 따지는 등의 별도의 외교적 부담도 경감된다. 이러한 접근방식은 다른 국가들과의 자유무역협정 체결과정에서도 심도있게 고려되어야 할 것이다.

Korea is eager to conclude Free Trade Agreements. The government, virtually reaching the Agreement with European Union following the United States, has been working towards Free Trade Agreements with Canada, Mexico, Australia, etc. respectively at the same time. Korea is the only one in the world which is negotiating the Agreements with so various countries at the same time. If all of those Agreements have been signed successfully, Korea will have come to trade free with countries comprising more than 50% of the world population. Then, while the global stand of the country will become highlighted, the increase of the risk relating to the expansion of international interchange will be inevitable. Frequently being exposed to international interchange environment means that the possibility of being a victim of transboundary environmental damage also becomes stronger. Nobody know for sure if Korea will be a wrongdoer or a victim of environmental damage in the context of unpredictable variableness of international community. The concept of state responsibility has been framed to some extent through international customary laws, international treaties, and ‘Draft Articles on Responsibility of State for Internationally Wrongful Act’ provided by International Law Commission. When a state conducts a wrongful act in the light of international laws, inflicting damage to other states, state responsibility in regard to the wrongful act develops. Indeed, however, there is much of a limit to the approach by state responsibility to eventually solving international conflicts owing to the difficulty in proving the causation between wrongful acts and damage, the possibility of infringement on sovereignty, the absence of method of sufficient and satisfactory relief, the difficulty in assessing the damages, bringing about international conflicts, etc.. As a result, it is the most reasonable that preventative regulations should be introduced, prior to the happening of accidents in regard to environmental damage. In order to prevent transboundary environmental damage, the duty not to inflict severe environmental damage to other countries should be stated and the duty of notification on the plans and actions which are able to have a negative effect on the other countries concerned should be concretely specified. In addition, the duty of providing and periodically exchanging the related data and information should be inserted in the regulation. Prior to setting up the regulation, some pre-actions are needed such as sharing the sense of crisis, feeling the need for common efforts to address environmental problems, researching for the formula for the coping with pollutants, and specific discussions on duties which should be conducted by the countries concerned with regard to the formula. Through those steps, the pertinent duties should be documented and a specific convention or an additional letter of intention should be concluded relating to the creation of supervisory mechanisms to ensure full compliance. Those stage-by-stage approaches would be an effective means which at first starts at a convention without binding force and leads to a convention with binding force. A clue to tackle the problem of ‘Yellow Dust’, one of environmental problems to Korea, can also be found out through that kind of stage-by-stage conclusion of an environmental convention. It would be suggested as a solution that an environmental convention with China should be linked to trade and commerce. It would be considerable that Korea-China Free Trade Agreement, expected to be concluded in the future, should include articles on an environmental convention. There is a high probability that the conclusion of Korea-China environmental convention will be the solution to tackling environmental issues, which can be the most effective and lessen the burden of both countries. The approach should be considered seriously in the process of negotiating Free Trade Agreements with other countries.

Korea is eager to conclude Free Trade Agreements. The government, virtually reaching the Agreement with European Union following the United States, has been working towards Free Trade Agreements with Canada, Mexico, Australia, etc. respectively at the same time. Korea is the only one in the world which is negotiating the Agreements with so various countries at the same time. If all of those Agreements have been signed successfully, Korea will have come to trade free with countries comprising more than 50% of the world population. Then, while the global stand of the country will become highlighted, the increase of the risk relating to the expansion of international interchange will be inevitable. Frequently being exposed to international interchange environment means that the possibility of being a victim of transboundary environmental damage also becomes stronger. Nobody know for sure if Korea will be a wrongdoer or a victim of environmental damage in the context of unpredictable variableness of international community. The concept of state responsibility has been framed to some extent through international customary laws, international treaties, and ‘Draft Articles on Responsibility of State for Internationally Wrongful Act’ provided by International Law Commission. When a state conducts a wrongful act in the light of international laws, inflicting damage to other states, state responsibility in regard to the wrongful act develops. Indeed, however, there is much of a limit to the approach by state responsibility to eventually solving international conflicts owing to the difficulty in proving the causation between wrongful acts and damage, the possibility of infringement on sovereignty, the absence of method of sufficient and satisfactory relief, the difficulty in assessing the damages, bringing about international conflicts, etc.. As a result, it is the most reasonable that preventative regulations should be introduced, prior to the happening of accidents in regard to environmental damage. In order to prevent transboundary environmental damage, the duty not to inflict severe environmental damage to other countries should be stated and the duty of notification on the plans and actions which are able to have a negative effect on the other countries concerned should be concretely specified. In addition, the duty of providing and periodically exchanging the related data and information should be inserted in the regulation. Prior to setting up the regulation, some pre-actions are needed such as sharing the sense of crisis, feeling the need for common efforts to address environmental problems, researching for the formula for the coping with pollutants, and specific discussions on duties which should be conducted by the countries concerned with regard to the formula. Through those steps, the pertinent duties should be documented and a specific convention or an additional letter of intention should be concluded relating to the creation of supervisory mechanisms to ensure full compliance. Those stage-by-stage approaches would be an effective means which at first starts at a convention without binding force and leads to a convention with binding force. A clue to tackle the problem of ‘Yellow Dust’, one of environmental problems to Korea, can also be found out through that kind of stage-by-stage conclusion of an environmental convention. It would be suggested as a solution that an environmental convention with China should be linked to trade and commerce. It would be considerable that Korea-China Free Trade Agreement, expected to be concluded in the future, should include articles on an environmental convention. There is a high probability that the conclusion of Korea-China environmental convention will be the solution to tackling environmental issues, which can be the most effective and lessen the burden of both countries. The approach should be considered seriously in the process of negotiating Free Trade Agreements with other countries.

Transboundary, State Responsibility, Yellow Dust, Free Trade Agreement, Environmental Convention