논문

The local council constitutes a prime institution to enhance accountability in local
administration. This study tries to analyze how the accountability relationship is
constructed between the executive branch and the council in the Korean local
government, and why the accountability relationship is instituted in such ways.
Based on an analysis of the Local Autonomy Act and the Local Finance Act, this
study found that the hierarchical and expert, as well as political and legal
accountability relationships are instituted between the two branches of the local
government. The study goes on to point out, as main sources of weakened
accountability relationships between the two branches, 1) the lack of specificity
and efficacy in the legal and political accountability enforcement mechanisms, 2)
the rampant and misled uses of hierarchical accountability enforcement
mechanisms; and 3) the lack of initiative in the use of code-making power on the
part of the local council.