Effects of the Forest-land Registry System of the Forest Law of 1980 on the Colonial Forest-land Policy used in Korea under the influence of Japanese Imperialism

삼림법(森林法)(1908)의 지적신고제도(地籍申告制度)가 일제(日帝)의 식민지(植民地) 임지정책(林地政策)에 미친 영향(影響)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究)

The purpose of this study is to examine the roles of the forest-land registry system in the Forest Law of 1908 and the effects this system had on the colonial forest-land policy used in Korea under the influence of Japanese Imperialism. This was started under the Profit-sharing Forest System which was one of the policies for disposing of the Korean national forests. The purpose of this system was to establish forest-land ownership, a fundamental human right. This system was enforced by the Japanese Colonial Government without regard to the customary and important right of Koreans to use the forests, and without considering the distinction between national and private forests. Koreans understood that this system was a warning sign of a tax being imposing on forest-land owners. Furthermore, Koreans thought the Japanese were using this system to deprive them of their forest-land. The strata of Koreans reporting ownership were very limited and included the intellectual(upper-middle) class, higher officials in counties and townships, relatives and relations of these officials, and survey agents. In particular the actual owners could not submit a report registering their land in this system because the required survey cost more than the value of the forest-land. Within the time period specified by the Japanese Colonial Government, about 520,000 registries were reported involving 2.2 million Jung-bo(.9917 hectare) with most of these coming during the last five months of reporting period. Koreans made a reasonable request to extend the deadline, but it was refused. After the reporting period expired there were no follow-up measures such as verification of the reported registrations nor establishment of boundaries between national and private forests. According to Article 19 in the Forest Law of 1908 about 14 million Jung-bo, which was not registered within the reporting period was nationalized. The colonial forest-land policy used in Korea by the Japanese Colonial Government was as follows : (1) to create a large number of national forests in the early period of their rule, (2) to divide these national forests into indispensible national forests and dispensible national forests, and (3) to transfer ownership of the dispensible national forests to colonial Japanese. To achieve the latter, the occupational government needed a method to insure ownership. They devised a tree-planting scheme in which the national forests classified as disposable were "loaned" and then transferred to these Japanese. The actual Korean owners claimed title to this forest-land and asked for the eviction of the new owners but the Japanese occupation government rejected these suits using the excuse that previous Korean owners did not submit the required registration report within the specified time period. In short the Principle of Forest-land Registry was used as a means to consolidate the forest-lands of Korea and distribute large portions of it to Japanese citizens after seizing it from the rightful Korean owners.

본 연구는 삼림법(森林法)(1908)에 규정된 지적신고제도(地籍申告制度)가 일제(日帝)의 식민지(植民地) 임지정책(林地政策)에서 어떠한 역할을 수행하였는가를 밝혀보고자 하는데 목적을 두였다. 지적신고제도(地籍申告制度)는 국유림처분정책의 하나인 부분림제도(部分林制度)의 부속물로써 시작되었다. 인간의 기본권에 해당하는 소유권을 정립시키고자 하는 지적신고제도가 한국민의 관습을 무시하고 소유권구분기준도 마련되지 않은 채 우리하게 강행되었다. 한국민은 지적신고에 대해 임야세(林野稅)를 부과하기 위한 전조(前兆)로써 인식하거나 일본인이 한국의 토지를 수탈한다고 보았다. 이 제도에 따라 신고를 했던 계층은 중산층 이상의 지식층에 속하는 자, 나면관경(那面官更)(경원(更員)) 또는 이들의 친척(親戚), 연고자(緣故者)와 측량(測量)을 담당하는 대행업자(代行業者)들로 매우 한정되었다. 특히 임지가치에 비해 측량경비가 훨씬 많이 소요되었기 때문에 원소유자조차 신고할 수 없었다. 3년간의 신고기간동안 약 52만건 220만정보가 신고 되었으며 마지막 5개월 동안 신고가 집중되었다. 그러나 총독부는 신고기간을 연장하라는 한국민의 요구를 묵살한 채 소유권 사정이나 경계 확정과 같은 후속 조치도 없이 일방적으로 종료하였다. 결국 삼림법 제19조에 따라 신고되지 않은 약 1,400만정보의 임지는 국유화되었다. 총독부의 식민지 임지정책은 (1) 총독부 초기에 대규모 국유림을 창출하고, (2) 창출된 국유림을 요존국유림과 불요존국유림으로 구분하여, (3) 불요존국유림을 일본인 중심으로 처분한다는 것이었다. 일본인에게 불요존국유림(不要存國有林)을 안정적으로 처분하기 위해서는 대량 창출된 국유림에 대한 소유권 변화를 막아야 했다. 이를 위해 일본인에게 양여(讓與)하거나 조림대부(造林貸付)해 준 산림에 대해 원소유자가 소유권을 주장할 경우 총독부는 정해진 기한내에 신고하지 않은 원소유자의 태만을 들어 붙요존림 처분을 정당화하였다. 결론적으로 총독부는 "신고주의원칙"을 통치 초기 대규모 국유림의 창출과 일본인을 중심으로 한 불요존림 처분이라는 식민지 임지정책을 강행하기 위한 족쇄로써 이용하였다.