The Korea Local Administration Review

The background and motivation of this study is to empirically examine the problem recognition of the deletion of provisions of the residents’ autonomous councils(RAC) excluded from the recently revised ｢Local Autonomy Act｣ and the improvement of the effectiveness of RAC currently operated as a pilot project. For this purpose, our research analyzed the factors for the adoption of RAC, which are currently operated as a pilot project, from the perspective of resident participation, local community consciousness, local government resources, and the political ideology of local government policy makers. As a result, the possibility of adopting RAC was higher when the head of the local government had a progressive political orientation, the higher the local government’s financial autonomy, the lower the referendum, and the lower the degree of financial independence. Considering these results, it can be seen that RAC did not actively reflect the participation and sense of community of the residents, was under the financial support of the central government and metropolitan governments, and was greatly influenced by the heads of progressive local governments. In order for a desirable RAC to operate in the future, RAC needs to give priority to resident participation and reflection of residents’ opinions; increase the financial capacity of basic local government and RAC; and be independent of the political ideology of the local government’s policy makers. Considering this point, we need to enact a law related to RAC in the future.