History of Local Autonomy

The Constitution enacted after Korea became an independent country in 1945 proclaimed the approval of local autonomy by prescribing that “local governments manage their properties in order to handle administrative matters pertaining to local autonomy and administrative matters delegated by the state within the limit of relevant Acts. Local governments can enact provisions relating to local autonomy within the limit permitted by relevant Acts.”⁶⁾ Under the Local Autonomy Act enacted in 1949, the heads of the local governments were elected by local assemblies, and the direct elections of the heads of provincial governments by their resident voters began in 1960.

However, the May 16 military coup broke out less than one year after the direct election of local government heads was introduced, and local assemblies were dissolved by the Revolution Committee. Those behind the military coup needed to control channels through which diverse views were voiced in order to rationalize the coup and manipulate public views.

Following the coup, the heads of local governments, who were previously elected, were appointed. After the military regime came to power through the

6) Article 96 of the Constitution

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coup, local governments in the 1960s, which were controlled by public officials appointed by the central government, acted as agents for the central government, rather than functioning as organizations with their own provisions and rules, and dealt with administrative affairs. This phenomenon continued in the 1970s.

The revised Constitution of 1972, also known as the so-called Yusin Constitution or the Revitalizing Reforms Constitution, practically abandoned local autonomy by prescribing that “local assemblies shall not be set up until after the unification of South and North Korea.”

〈Table III-1〉Developments of Local Autonomy in Korea Date of

Amendment Act Content

Jul. 4, 1949 Local Autonomy Act

amended - Local assemblies shall elect heads of local governments.

Feb. 13, 1956 Local Autonomy Act amended

- Heads of city and other basic administrative units (eup and myeon) shall be elected by direct vote of residents.

Dec. 26, 1958 Local Autonomy Act amended

- Heads of city, eup, and myeon shall be appointed instead of directly elected by residents.

Nov. 1, 1960 Local Autonomy Act amended

- Provincial governors and mayor of Seoul Metropolitan City shall be elected by direct vote of residents.

May 16, 1961 The Revolution

Commission declared - Local assemblies shall be dissolved.

Sept. 1, 1961 Temporary measures for

local autonomy enacted - Heads of basic administrative units shall be appointed.

Dec. 14, 1963 The above measures amended

- Direct election of heads of metropolitan cities shall be superseded by appointment.

Dec. 27, 1972 The Constitution consideration of fiscal self-reliance of individual local governments.

Apr. 6, 1988 Local Autonomy Act amended

- Provisions pertaining to organization of local assemblies and other provisions relating to local autonomy were established.

- In principle, heads of local government shall be elected by

Local Autonomy and Local Tax Policy in Korea

governments elected - Election of heads of local governments Aug. 31, 1999 Local Autonomy Act

amended

- Residents are allowed to propose and revise local ordinances, and to request audits by residents.

Jan. 29, 2004 Local Autonomy Act amended

- Prescribed details of residents' votes, including what calls for a residents' vote, requirements, and procedures.

Jan. 27, 2005 Local Autonomy Act

amended - Residents' suit was introduced.

Jan. 11, 2006 Local Autonomy Act amended

- Special Self-Governing Province was introduced, and Jeju Island was designated as such.

May 24, 2006 Local Autonomy Act

amended - Matters pertaining to residential recall were prescribed.

Dec. 20. 2006 Local Autonomy Act amended

- Partially amended according to the revised Local Education Autonomy Act

․ Education Commission was changed to permanent commission under local assemblies of cities and provinces.

․ Superintendents were elected directly by residents.

Sources: the Ministry of the Interior, The Chronology of Local Autonomous Act, December 2000.

Website of the Ministry of Government Legislation (www.moleg.go.kr) Replicated from An(2010)

Korea remained under the same military dictatorship in the 1980s, although signs of changes began to emerge. In the 1980s, an era of political turbulence, the Constitution was revised to express the intention of reintroducing local autonomy by prescribing that local assemblies shall be organized in a consecutive manner in consideration of the fiscal self-reliance of individual local governments. Studies and in-depth discussions were conducted on the organization of local assemblies and the introduction of local autonomy. Then, the Local Autonomy Act was amended in 1988 with a view to reinstating local autonomy.

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The revised Constitution clearly declared the government's intention to restore local autonomy by providing a specific timetable for the organization of local assemblies. According to the timetable, local assemblies of cities, counties, and autonomous local districts were to be formed within one year from the date that the revised Constitution came into effect. Then, the assemblies of metropolitan cities and provinces were to be set up within two years of the latter local assemblies being organized. On the other hand, the revised Constitution provided that the timetable for the election of the heads of local governments would be determined by relevant Acts, thus leaving the release of a specific timetable undecided.

The revised Local Autonomy Act of 1988 formed the backbone of what is the system of local autonomy today. However, a series of obstacles had to be overcome in the years that followed, before local autonomy was restored.

The first election of local assembly members was finally held three years later in 1991, after extending the deadline twice. The first election of local government leaders took an additional four years, finally taking place in 1995.

Key changes were made to the revised Local Autonomy Act to do with the direct election of local government leaders in the first half of 2015. These changes focused on keeping intact the framework of the local autonomy system established in the late 1980s, and making necessary improvements to strengthen local autonomy. Special emphasis was placed upon encouraging residents to become more actively involved in local affairs, one of the critical issues revealed in the course of operating local governments led by leaders elected by popular vote.

Residents were allowed to propose amendments to local ordinances and to demand audits in 1999. In addition, provisions were established in 2004 to empower residents to vote on major resolutions by local governments. In 2005, residents were allowed to file lawsuits against local governments suspected of being involved in illegal acts or having violated laws. A legal basis for residents' recall was laid in 2006 in order to tighten residents' supervision of elected public officials serving for local governments. Local education committees became permanent committees under the local assemblies of cities and provinces in December 2006. There have been no amendments to the Local Autonomy Act since 2007 that have had a significant impact on local autonomy.

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<Table III-1> shows how Korea's local autonomy has evolved. Based on this table, we can determine the specific time when “the implementation of the local autonomy system,” which is not clearly defined, is mentioned. Local autonomy was first introduced in the 1950s. After a hiatus, local autonomy was reintroduced in two steps: the establishment of local assemblies in 1991, and the direct election of heads of local governments in 1995. Of the three events that can be considered as marking the implementation of local autonomy, we view the 1995 direct election of local government leaders as the beginning of local autonomy in the truer sense. Local assemblies launched in the 1950s were made null and void, even before they began to function properly. The establishment of local assemblies in 1991 was clearly an important step forward in terms of local autonomy, but the local governments were led by heads appointed by the central government. The mere existence of local assemblies that consist of members elected by popular vote cannot suffice as a true embodiment of local autonomy.