논문

For almost 40 years, Korea has maintained an unitary system of centralized government. The direct election of the chief administrators of local government held in 1995 has been expected to transform the whole picture of national politic. Nevertheless, recent surveys on the performance of the decentralized local self-governance show that this is not self-fulling.
The author examines several characteristics of central-local relations manifested in the Local Government Act, especially in the areas of self-organization and personnel administration. And finds the autonomous power of the chief administrators of local government in these areas is relatively weak. The main reason is that the central government is reluctant to transfer and delegate power to local government. Their recognition on the role of the chief cxecutive administrators stands behind the needs for self-government. Also, they are afraid of excessive politicization of local administration and poor financial and administrative capacity of local government. For the elected chief administrators of local government politically responsible to the people, the degree of aotonomy should be enhanced through overcoming these psychological hindrances.