The Korea Local Administration Review

The majority of local governments has visions or long term goals to guide their operation and to meet the images of the future.
This study analyzed the lexeme of the vision statement of local governments. The analysis compared three periods(2nd, 3rd, 4th. period of popular election) and four local government levels(Metropolitan City/Do, Gu, Si and Gun) in terms of vision structure, originality, consistency, time perspective and contents.
The analysis revealed that the visions of the local government did not adequately meet the desired criteria, particularly originality and consistency. The vision statement was expressed only in slogan type. The vision contents showed that the focus changed from spatial orientations(region, city) to human. The 'vision' term was used to the means of strategy(planning, pattern, position) rather than the visual image of future. Finally, this research discovered the necessity for the participatory strategic planning, vision making and the appropriate application of the terms relating to strategic direction.