Innovations for Administrative Reforms in Korea Revisited: A Case of Local Autonomy

Introduction

The South Korean local autonomy system started in 1952 and was implemented for 9 years until it was suspended by the military regime in 1961. It was then reinstated before the staging of the Seoul Olympics in the fall of 1988. This democratic self-governing system contributed not only to achieving national balanced development but also to maximizing citizen’s political participation. In addition, the government’s responsiveness and accountability to its citizens was enhanced.

This section provides an academic basis for reinstating local autonomy by providing a systemic review of local self-governing experiences and analyzing the need of and potential for the local autonomy in South Korea. In the light of certain critical factors, an attempt is also made in this study to propose a desirable and feasible system that will be appropriate for South Korea.

South Korea has experienced more than five decades of dramatic economic development, during which its per-capita GDP...