Work to overhaul laws and regulations to strengthen the substantive autonomy of local governments is moving into full swing. The Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development and the Ministry of Government Legislation will comprehensively revise regulatory statutes to expand the scope of local government ordinance making so that local governments can autonomously pursue policies tailored to regional characteristics.
According to the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development on Oct. 20, the committee launched a study in mid-September titled "Plan to overhaul regulatory statutes to expand local legislative authority." The study will proceed as a collaboration between the Ministry of Government Legislation and the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development. The Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development will first target statutes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and it is expected to expand into a full survey of regulatory statutes across all ministries.
Under the current Local Autonomy Act, local governments have the authority to enact local government ordinances, but regulatory provisions restricting residents' rights or imposing obligations can be set by ordinance only with a clear delegation by law. As a result, critics have consistently noted that it is structurally difficult to craft policies tailored to local conditions.
For example, the Act on Urban Parks and Green Areas sets prohibited acts within urban parks uniformly by the central government. Prohibited acts typically include restrictions on street-vendor operations and requirements to leash companion dogs, making it difficult for regions to enact tailored local government ordinances. In addition, current issues such as setbacks for livestock shed installations, adjustments to fishing-right qualifications, and regulations on coastal development are hard for local governments to address autonomously through local government ordinances and risk being nullified as "excess ordinances."
Accordingly, the committee plans to identify statutory provisions that can grant legislative autonomy to local governments. It also plans to push legal overhauls by including explicit delegation clauses in the relevant laws stating that "local governments may set this by local government ordinance."
The Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development said that after the full survey it will push an omnibus amendment, but depending on each ministry's circumstances, adjustments could be made to proceed with individual or phased amendments. An official with the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development said, "There is significant demand in the regions to respond to regulations through local government ordinances, but the lack of clear legal grounds creates substantial practical difficulties," adding, "Together with the Ministry of Government Legislation, we will conduct a full survey of regulatory statutes across all ministries, identify areas where local legislation is possible, and prepare concrete overhaul plans."
This move is in line with the Lee Jae-myung administration's five-year national agenda item to strengthen local autonomy. The agenda laid out five detailed tasks: ▲ establishing a central-local cooperation framework ▲ expanding devolution of powers ▲ enacting the Local Council Act ▲ strengthening local legislative authority ▲ expanding residents' autonomous rights. Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development Chair Kim Kyeong-soo also emphasized the importance of strengthening local legislative authority in an inaugural address in July, saying, "Without fundamental institutional reform, there will be no substantive decentralization."
This overhaul will not simply expand the scope of local government ordinance making; it is expected to help narrow administrative gaps between regions and improve responsiveness to everyday regulations. However, experts said that beyond revising local government ordinances, a foundation is needed for a genuine local autonomy system.
Choi Ho-taek, a professor in the Department of Public Administration at Paichai University, said, "Although Korea's local autonomy system marks its 30th anniversary, autonomy is weak, earning the description 'a toothless autonomy,'" adding, "We need to raise autonomy by allowing local governments to make, implement, and carry out local government ordinances on their own." He added, "Since the Lee Jae-myung administration's top priority is 'constitutional amendment,' if an amendment is pursued, it should center on decentralization, with substantial transfers of authority and finances."