대한민국 임시정부 정치체제

Korean Provisional Government : Is It a Representative or Proxy Government?

The Korean Provisional Government s political system was allegedly to be a representative government of popular sovereignty, but the real one was a proxy government by independence activists. The six constitutions of the Provisional Government are all theoretically based on popular(national) sovereignty. However, the popular sovereignty was not realized, nor was the direct election of the people possible. Thus, from the 3rd Constitution of 1925, the sovereignty of liberation activists was confirmed, and the activists voting for the people by proxy was constitutionally recognized. The Provisional Government is a council government organized by the independence activists, and the legislature acted as a sovereign council. A direct government, where a certain group act on behalf of popular sovereignty, is vulnerable to issues of legitimacy and legality. Even if the constitution could proclaim sovereign status, the constitution is yet to be approved by the people. In the entire history of the independence movement, the Provisional Government was not the only legitimate government by the whole people, nor was it a representative government capable of asserting national representation. That is the reason why the Provisional Government had to face various challenges of other would-be sovereign bodies. However, the Provisional Government took over the status of the central organization of independence activists and played a role of de facto government both internally and externally. The Provisional Government was the only de facto government organization that had continued constitutional practice from the March 1st movement 1919 until liberation of 1945. In that sense, I think the legitimacy and constitutional values of the Provisional Government are recognized.