A Study of Legal Philosophy on the 5·18 Civilian Militia's Activities: Centered on the Relationship between Governmental Authority and Vigilantism

Abstract

The May-18 Citizen Militia, as a good-willed vigilante corps armed to resist the evil governmental authority after the mass firing of martial law forces on May 21, 1980, realized a peaceful world called Dae-dong-se-sang (or the wholly equalized one) for 5 days from the 22nd until the 26th of the month and publicized the New-Army Group's crime of destroying the constitutional order and Gwangju citizens' dedicated efforts around the world through the Final Resistance. This paper specifies the spirit of May 18 Demonstration Movement by examining the vigilante activities of the militia and illuminates its precious value in the light of Thomas Hobbes's and John Locke's philosophical idea on the relationship between governmental authority and people’s resistance right. As a research method, the discourse of vigilantism is applied to the formation and activities of the militia, and their vigilantism activities are studied in terms of legal philosophy. In the process, this research explains the rationale of exercising the governmental power by the idea of Hobbes' Leviathan and illuminates the legitimacy of the militia's activities of vigilantism by Locke's theory of governance. And also, it argues the value of studying the militia's formation and activities by confirming the contact points with Locke's idea through reinterpreting Hobbes's thought. Lastly, this study defines the 5·18 spirit as sovereignty vested in the people, vigilant resistance, Dae-dong-se-sang, the idea of human rights, and protection of democracy and expects that legal philosophical considerations integrating historical fact research and political interpretation will contribute to the investigation of the facts of May 18 Demonstration Movement and the commemoration and succession of the event.