The Korea Local Administration Review

This paper first proposes an analytical frame of local auonomy by crossing the two axes of local autonomy approaches(paradigms): top-down vs. bottom-up approach and process-based vs. goal-based approach. Based on the analytical frame, it evaluates the status of Korean local autonomy by analyzing the results of the survey conducted by the Presidential Committee for Local Autonomy Development of the Park Geun-hye Regime. In addition, it assessed the 20 local autonomic policy tasks proposed by the committee. Overall, the list of policy tasks presented a number of essential developmental policy tasks despite some limitations of over-attention to the procedural aspects of local autonomy. Some complementary but essential policy issues are discussed: transformation of local autonomy paradigms, more decentralization, strengthening local accountability, introducing community-level local autonomy system(City, Eup and Myun), and and enhancing integration of local administration were suggested. The key argument of this paper is that redefining the paradigm of local autonomy prior to specific developmental tasks is a prerequisite and that the local autonomy of Korea should be complemented by a goal-based approach and an bottom-up approach.

□ Keywords: Local autonomy, paradigms of local autonomy, national committee for local autonomy development