지방자치단체의 통합과 선거구획정에 따른 법적 과제

Full-scale local autonomy has been achieved formally in our country by selecting local assemblyman of the entity in 1991, and then local governors by resident’s direct elections at 1995, but the necessity of administrative district’s reorganizations have been proposed for maximizing efficiency of the local autonomy practically. Though local administrative system’s reorganizations have merits of being able to strengthen efficiency and competitiveness of the local autonomous entity, but it could be said that matters of administrative reorganizations or its integrations are very important constitutional issues nationally in that one or a lot of local autonomous entities are disappeared by integrations, and it would entangle and make conflicts from political, economical, social, cultural, and historical interests sharply. And a matter of electoral district demarcation will be occurred in elections of local councils’ assemblymen by local autonomous entities’ integrations, thus these interest’s conflicts and contradictions have to rather be judged from value realizations’ perspectives in decentralization of power, not from public interests only. Integrations of local autonomous entities would contribute to goals such like its efficiency and competitiveness’s enhancement, but worries are being suggested that it could come out to central control’s reinforcement owing to intensified symptoms of centralism. If integrations of local autonomous entities become to strength centralism, this has to become on alert because it follows to disappearance of local autonomy and decentralization. Local administrative system’s reorganization having been taken roots well while experiencing trials and errors till now could become a retrogressive revision that would cause subordination of local politics to central ones and thus shaking local autonomy completely. Chapter 1 of 「he Special Act on the Reform of the Local Administrative System」is regulating “promotion organizations and procedures, standard and scopes, and national support etc for reorganizing current administrative system by coping with rapid changes of administrative environments, and aims at contributing to local competency’s enforcement, national competitiveness’s enhancement, and resident’s convenience and welfare’s promotions”. Realizing such purposes is rather available through local autonomy’s settlement, decentralization’s enforcement, and region’s balance developments than considering the method of local autonomous entities’ integrations as the top priority. For realizing integrations, Chapter 4 of 「he Special Act on the Reform of the Local Administrative System」is regulating budget (Article 25) and special supports (Article 26) etc according to ‘exemptions on integrated local autonomous entities and large cities,’ but local autonomy and decentralization are able to be strengthened if same supports are made to current each basic local autonomous entity instead of doing such supports to the integrated city between autonomous entities. Though administrative district’s reorganizations and local autonomous entities’ integrations are shown as being visualized and actualized by legal bases like 「he Special Act on the Reform of the Local Administrative System」 but it regulates that “In its promotions, MayorㆍCounty headmanㆍDistrict leader submit their opinions to MayorㆍProvince Governor, and then the latter submit it to Promotion Committee for Local Administrative System’s Reorganizations till end June, 2012 in principle. And then the Committee submits integrated plans of local administrative bodies to President and National Congress, and confirms integrated recommendations between local autonomous entities and integrated willingness of the local council after July 2012.” However, regardless of these regulations, there were not any local autonomous entities that submit integrated proposals voluntarily within the deadline of end December, 2011. When looking at these results, worries are suggested that local autonomous entities’ integrations by administrative system’s reorganizations would be finished such like ‘There is no matter whether it is done or not.’ Though some meanings could be filed up with debates on local administrative system’s reorganizations, but expenses of being charged to the nation and society will become too much great if it becomes the special act such like ‘There is no matter whether it is done or not.’ Therefore, local administrative system’s reorganizations shall be promoted by considering local autonomy and decentralization’s aspects carefully in addition to perspectives of realizing goals such like efficiency and competitiveness’ enforcement of nation and local autonomous entities in the process of its reorganizations.