이 연구의 목적은 통일운동 NGO의 변천 과정과 거버넌스 관계를 분석하고 향후 통일과정에서 필요한 거버넌스 방향과 대안을 모색하는 데 있다. 통일운동 NGO는 1980년 광주민주화운동 직후 본격적으로 설립되었고 1997년 김대중 대통령 당선과 2000년 남북정상회담 이후 활발하게 결성되었다. 6.15 남북공동선언 이후 생긴 남북교류는 통일운동 NGO의 활동 영역을 기존 정부 영역까지 진출할 수 있게 하였고 거버넌스의 중요성은 그만큼 확대되어 다층적 거버넌스로 발전할 수 있게 되었다. 다층적 거버넌스는 하나의 국가 안에서는 중앙정부, 지자체, NGO, 기업 등이 행위자가 되고 국제사회에서는 초국가 기구, 국가 중앙정부, 지역 정부, 국제 NGO, 다국적 기업 등이 행위자가 된다. 본 연구는 아래와 같은 이유로 정부와 통일운동 NGO 간 거버넌스 발전방안에 초점을 맞추고자 한다. 첫째, 한반도 평화통일은 헌법 전문과 제1장, 제4장 등에 명시되어 있다. 이는 단순한 선언적 의미가 아니라 모든 대통령과 정부는 평화적 통일정책을 수립하고 추진해야 한다. 진보와 보수를 떠나 어떤 정부가 들어서도 자유민주적 기본질서에 입각한 평화적 통일정책을 수립하는 데 국민의 여론은 중요하고 이를 반영하는 거버넌스가 활발히 작동해야 한다. 둘째, 역대 남한 정부의 통일방안인 ‘민족공동체 통일방안’은 남북한 화해와 교류 협력의 확대를 통한 민족공동체의 건설과 그에 기초한 점진적이고 단계적인 통일을 지향하기에 거버넌스는 중요하다. ‘민족공동체 통일방안’은 통일의 과정을 1단계 화해협력, 2단계 남북연합, 3단계 통일국가 완성으로 나누었는데 각 단계가 진전될수록 거버넌스는 확대되어야 한다. 특히, 2단계 남북연합은 정부만의 힘으로 추진하기에는 다룰 범위가 워낙 방대하다. 셋째, 흔히 남북관계는 진보 정부에서 활성화되고 보수 정부에서 경색되어왔다. 이에 따라 집권한 정부가 진보냐 보수냐에 따라 통일운동 NGO의 활동 범위가 달라졌다. 남북관계가 좋으면 북한과 교류의 기회가 생겨 통일운동 NGO가 다양한 사업을 진행하였고 이 과정에서 거버넌스가 구축되었다. 그러나 통일운동은 북한과 교류하는 분야만 있는 것이 아니라 남한 국민을 대상으로 함께 활동하는 분야도 많다. 그렇기에 남한 정부는 평화통일 정책을 실행하는 데 남북관계에 영향을 받지만 종속되지 않는 거버넌스를 유지하고 활용해야 한다.This paper aims to examine the evolution and current state of non-governmental organizations actively campaigning for the reunification of North and South Korea (hereinafter, “Unification NGOs”) in Korean society, and to explore the directions and alternatives of governance necessary for the future unification
process. The peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula is a constitutional task mandated to all presidents and administrations of South Korea. The "National Community Unification Plan," which has been the unification plan of successive South Korean governments, aims for gradual and phased unification based on the construction of a national community through expanded reconciliation and exchange cooperation between North and South Korea. It has been modified
and supplemented to suit the changing times and continues to this day.
Governance has been known in South Korea since the late 1990s and is a theory that guarantees private participation from the policy planning stage to draw active participation from the private sector, evolving from public-private partnerships where the government entrusts part of its policies to the private sector. However, governance is not a single concept but encompasses various theories and forms, and its application varies according to the trends of the
times and different fields. It goes through processes where it sometimes achieves its intended purposes and sometimes fails. More than any other task, peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula can yield results only through effective cooperation with the participation of various domestic and international actors. In this regard, the governance between the South Korean government and Unification NGOs is particularly important, and there have been several cases
where this has been pursued at a rudimentary level.
Unification NGOs have been active in the fields of North Korean aid, inter-Korean exchange, public opinion formation, and unification education, and have established advanced governance with the South Korean government. However, problems have also emerged, such as failing to secure public support while being operated by a few prominent figures or single-person NGOs, engaging in biased activities due to excessive political ideology, focusing solely on North
Korean exchanges and becoming inactive when inter-Korean relations deteriorate, and neglecting social consensus and solidarity, which are key values of NGOs. Unification NGOs have gone through a process of change, forming governance with the government under difficult internal and external conditions faced by the trends of the times, and have achieved some results. However, to address the problems that have been exposed, in conjunction with the current political situation, they need to establish multi-level governance as a solution.
Multi-level governance is a new form of governance brought about by the decentralization of government authority due to globalization and localization. It was proposed during the European integration process to establish permanent peace on the European continent after the First and Second World Wars, and successfully integrated the current European Union, which has significant implications for the Korean Peninsula. To summarize the characteristics of multi-level
governance: First, it can increase the possibility of resolving two-dimensional issues that cannot be solved in bilateral relations between hostile states by transforming them into three-dimensional issues involving multilateral participation. Second, it allows regional issues that transcend central governments and borders to be addressed through cooperation between local governments in ways that suit regional characteristics. Third, it enables efficient response
and management of international issues that were previously unforeseen, due to the rapid advancement of science and technology.
Fourth, it can further expand the participation of citizens and the market To achieve this, Unification NGOs should establish governance with the government. First, they should venture into new areas to secure public support by engaging in online activities to overcome the boundaries of division and localize the governance of Unification NGOs. Second, as a practical step to resolve political bias, they need to monitor South Korean media while gathering public opinion on
opening North Korean media, and expand public forums to address internal conflicts within South Korea. Third, they must explore tasks for the inter-Korean federation stage and establish new governance for North Korean aid and economic cooperation to develop mid to long-term plans for improving inter-Korean relations. Fourth, to ecure minimal consensus and solidarity, they should foster a minimal level of consensus for consistency in North Korea and unification
policies, and form solidarity with domestic and international NGOs to tackle contemporary challenges.
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