초록 열기/닫기 버튼
According to the Korean Constitution Article 1, which stipulates the people’s sovereignty doctrine, youths are also the sovereign members of this country. Democracy is to be achieved to give democratic legitimacy to representatives through election, which is called Representative Democracy. Even if it is impossible for under 19 years old youths to participate in the process of politics through the election mechanism, most of them are able to criticize the unfair and unreasonable overall social structures, such as sunken Sewol Perry disaster. Facing the question why youths as sovereign people are deprived of their qualification to use their own sovereign power without any reasons, this article examines the normative measure to expand the qualification of voting age as, what ought to be, a mean to enhance youths‘ political participation. Basically, since the ground of the restrictions on the election or voting age is to be found on the principle of general election, this article tries to study the relations between the principle of general election and the election or voting age. The definition of the general election is that any people should have a voting right regardless of their economic or social status, such as being rich or poor. Comparatively, it is necessary to examine other countries’ examples with respect to the age to vote in the election. This article also criticizes the Korean Constitutional Court decisions that the provision of the public election act that allows 19 years and over 19 years old youths to be qualified to have a voting right is constitutional. In addition, the article examines the advisory opinion of the general committee members of the National Human Right Committee, which suggests that the legislature should consider the reduction of voting age down to 18 years old. Based on the analysis of the theories, the Korean Constitutional Court decisions, and the advisory opinion of the National Human Right Committee, the article insists that the voting age be reduced to age 18 for many normative and empirical reasons.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
People's Sovereignty Doctrine, Youth's Participation in Politics, Representative Democracy, General Election Principle, Voting Age
