关于核电政策社会冲突的争论与挑战——以韩国新古里5号和6号机组公众参与分析为例

Issues and Challenges for the Resolution of Social Conflicts Surrounding Nuclear Energy Policy:Focusing on the Evaluation of Public Discourse on Shin-Kori Reactors 5 and 6

核电是引起韩国社会冲突的主要根源之一。韩国新古里5号和6号机组建设的公众辩论,被认为是基于公众参与民主协商的成功案例,也是韩国在核电领域中首次尝试引入公众参与,由此证明公众参与是解决社会冲突的有效工具。公众参与的协商式决策可以弥补专家主义的不足,完善代议制,它之所以成为可能,是因为赋民主于市民,且通过公众参与使市民的公民意识成长。“国家公众参与委员会”的成立,可组织和管理民众对激烈的社会冲突事件或者一定规模的公共事务展开公众辩论,且可能参与制订社会认可度高的决策。公众参与的两个核心原则是代表性和审议性。为了充分进行审议,既需提供充分且对称的信息,也需公正而透明地管理公众舆论。为了充分审议尖锐的价值冲突,需要设定议题并提供足够信息,以便参与者能够审议新生代以及自然和当地居民的利益。为了使公众舆论更顺畅、更有效,公众参与委员会应当与媒体共同面对参与市民和普通市民,进行积极而直接的沟通,并将公众舆论的结果形成政策建议案。

Nuclear energy is a major cause of social conflicts in South Korea. The public discourse on Shin-Kori Nuclear Reactors 5 and 6 was the first and successful attempt at deliberative democracy through civil participation in regards to nuclear energy policy. As such, public discourse proved to be an effective tool in resolving social conflicts. Deliberative decision making through citizen participation, which overcomes the pitfalls of expertism and representative democracy, was made possible through democratic citizens. This, in turn, expanded the capacity of the democratic citizens. The establishment of a national public discourse commission that organizes and manages public discourse for highly controversial political issues or public projects of certain size, would help make more socially accepted decisions. The two key principles of public discourse are representation and deliberation. For a proper deliberation, balanced and sufficient information should be provided and the public discourse process managed transparently. In order to sufficiently deliberate intense value conflicts, it is necessary to set agendas and provide sufficient information, hence the participants to understand the interests of the future generations, nature, and local residents. The results of public discourse should be treated as a policy recommendation. Moreover, it is necessary to communicate actively and directly with participating citizens and the general public, as well as the media, for a smoother and more effective public discourse.