SCAPIN 677과 『1945년 칙령 제707호(중의원 의원 의원 선거법 시행령 중 개정의 건)중 개정의 건 』

A Study on SCAPIN 677 and its Legal Enforcement in Japan through Imperial Ordinance no. 97 (Feb 22, 1946)

Instruction no. 677 by the Supreme Commander for Allied Powers (hereinafter SCAPIN 677) is considered a key source that supports South Korea s territorial sovereignty over the island Dokdo. Most studies performed so far involving SCAPIN 677 have focused on defining what the Allied Powers saw as the scope of Japan s territorial domain, mainly through examining sources such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration, and other documents issued by GHQ/SCAP and the United States on policies for the occupation of Japan. This was because the interpretation of such sources has differed between South Korea and Japan. This study attempts to analyze and draw implications from examining SCAPIN 677 and how Japan internally carried out or realized SCAPIN 677 under theso-called Potsdam Emergency Imperial Ordinance established in 1945 to carry out SCAP directives and the Potsdam Cabinet Orders issued to follow such directives in accordance with the Potsdam Emergency Imperial Ordinance. This study determines that, just as South Korea has so far interpreted, Ulleungdo, Dokdo, and Jejudo, the islands that fall under group A of SCAPIN 677 s clause 3, are pertinent to the matter of Japan s territorial sovereignty. As for other islands that fall under groups B or C, such as the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands, the Izu, Nanpo to the south of the Japanese archipelago, and the Kurile (Chishima) Islands to the north of the Japanese archipelago, are pertinent to the matter of Japan s administrative rights, just as Japan has so far interpreted. Hence, Ulleungdo and Jejudo were designated, without the inclusion of Dokdo, as Korean territory in the San Francisco Peace Treaty s final draft. That did not necessarily indicate that Dokdo was to remain under Japanese control. To carry out SCAPIN 677, Imperial Ordinance no. 97 was issued on February 22, 1946, an amendment to Imperial Ordinance no. 707 of 1945 (amendment of the enforcement ordinance for the election law of the House of Representatives). Through this Imperial Ordinance no. 97, Japan classified Dokdo as well as other islands under Article 3 (b) as areas where elections cannot be held. And those islands under Article 3 (b) were later returned to Japan per SCAPIN 841, SCAPIN 677/1, Ministry of Home Affairs Regulation no. 17, and Government Order no. 38. However, no SCAPIN or Potsdam Cabinet Order has ever ordered the return of Dokdo to Japan.