The Korea Local Administration Review

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the competence and values of local governments on the trust in them. Empirical analysis was conducted based on data obtained from an online survey. The results of the analysis are as follows: Firstly, it was found that policy-making capacity and conflict management capacity among the abilities of local governments have an influence on the trust in them. Secondly, it was confirmed that accountability and fairness among the values of local governments have a positive effect on trust. Furthermore, when constructing a moderation model between the competence and values of local governments and analyzing it, it was observed that integrity and responsibility among the values of local governments amplify the influence of civil servant competence on trust in local governments. On the other hand, fairness among the values of local governments does not have a statistically significant moderating effect on the competence of local governments. These analytical results suggest that both performance-oriented competence and value-oriented public values demanded by local residents are meaningful in enhancing trust in the government. Additionally, as public values pursued by local governments amplify the effects of existing performance-oriented competence, local governments need to make efforts to achieve public values.