The Korea Local Administration Review

The devolution of the national functions with concerns of the regional qualityraises the necessity of new debate, including the expansion of the existingdebate, about the sovereignty of the people from the national scope to the localscope. This study aim to propose the concept, the major values of thesovereignty of residents, and the institutional limits and the reformation tosecure it. First, the concept of the sovereignty of residents is to reflect theresidents’ intention for the regional problem. Second, the expansion of thedecision making by themselves and the improvement of the credibility for thelocal administration are proposed as a plan to hold the sovereignty of residents.Third, the major value of sovereignty of residents is composed of the legalvalue and institutional value. Those values express the legal equity, theguarantee of the chance for residents’s choice, and procedural validity of theresidents’ participation. This study can contribute to make ideal frameworks ofthe local government and the decentralization with the discussion of thedevolution from the national scope to regional scope.
□ 주제어: sovereignty of residents, residents’ choice, residents’ participation