지방소멸시대의 지방자치 재검토

Rethinking the Local Autonomy in an Era of Local Extinction - Diversification and Differentiation -

The purpose of this study is to examine the problems and alternatives of the local autonomy congruent with an era of local extinction in Korea. There has been a big gap among local governments in Korea in terms of population and fiscal capacity since 1995 Whereas Suwon city has a population of over a million and a high level of financial independence, Yeongyang county has a population of less than twenty thousand and relatively low financial independence. This gap is supposed to be widened increasingly in the near future. This paper reviews diversification and differentiation as a possible solution to the demographic cliff and the local lapse. The paper suggests that diversification of local autonomy can be achieved by adopting local institutions by referendum, the new-typed governance of the autonomous districts in metropolitan cities, and testing town-meeting system in small counties. It suggests that differentiation of local autonomy can be realized by differentiating decentralization on the basis of local culture, limiting the autonomy of small local governments, and enhancing the special status of large cities.