International Activities

2021 the 23rd KRILA-GRIPS Local Policy Research Workshop

The Korea Research Institute for Local Administration(KRILA) organized the 23rd KRILA-GRIPS local policy research workshop on the theme "A Comparative Study of Local Administrative Reforms of Korea and Japan" in collaboration with the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies(GRIPS) via YouTube live streaming and Zoom webinar on 21 December 2021 at 1:30 p.m.

The workshop is organized to give local government insights to embark on reform with support from the central government, as the importance of decentralization and greater autonomy for local government increases.

The opening ceremony started with opening remarks by Prof. Yokomichi Kiyotaka, GRIPS, followed by welcoming remarks by Il Jae Kim, President, KRILA.

The workshop consisted of two sessions, which included panel discussions featuring Prof. Dong Hyun Ha, Department of Administration, Jeonbuk National University, Dr. Won Sup Lee, Global Development Partnership Center, Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements(KRIHS), Assoc. Prof. Masaki Yusuke, University of Tokyo, Yamanaka Kotaro, Director for International Cooperation and Economic Relations Division, Council of Local Authorities for International Relations(CLAIR).

Session 1 opened with a presentation delivered by Jung Sook Kim, Director for Administrative System Research of KRILA, titled "Megacity Region and Local Administrative System Changes." The second presentation was followed by Seung Won Hur, Director for Local Autonomy and Decentralization Support Division, Ministry of the Interior and Safety(MOIS), the Republic of Korea, titled "Introduction of Special Local Autonomous Governments for Strengthening Cooperation between municipalities."

Session 2 started with a presentation delivered by Prof. HajiroJun, GRIPS, titled "Institution for Metropolitan Cities in Japan." The second presentation was followed by KichutaMakoto, Director for Policy Division, Policy Bureau, the City of Yokohama, titled "「Special Self-Governing City」, Institution for Metropolitan Cities in Yokohama."

After each session was announced, panel discussions were followed by four speakers from both Korea and Japan. They shared approaches to both countries' local administrative systems and best practices.