An Empirical Study for the Establishment of Desirable Relation Between the Local Council and the Local Executive

Abstract

The re-introduction of legislative bodies at two levels of local government in April and July 1991 through the local elections opened the new era of local autonomy. Local autonomy means the management of local affairs by local government, not the central authority, using local organs. Theoretically, there are several essential advantages of local autonomy : first, it will increase the extent of citizens' participation in local affairs ; second, it will produce effective public service because local governments are more responsive to local demands and more accountable to local inhabitants ; and third, it will function as a means of checking and balancing the central government. In spite of much negative aspects of the initial stage of the two years' experience on local autonomy, our local autonomy system is now being settled in high speed, especially with the launching of Kim Young-sam Administration into the sea of democracy.