The people of Jeju Province have voted to get rid of local city assemblies and turn the whole province into one big regional autonomous government. The way the province is administered will change significantly, with the provincial governor naming the mayors of the two largest cities. It is going to be a historical experiment in reforming government administration, and it is significant that it is happening as the first example of a local referendum. It looks like the talk of reorganizing the administration of non-national government bodies going on within the government and at the National Assembly will become more resilient.
The country's system of regional administration is a legacy of the era when agriculture was central. That is one of the reasons that today it is costly and lacks in efficiency, and it is why the national government and the National Assembly are talking about changing the current structural make-up to an exclusive collection of "metropolitan regional autonomous units" prior to the 2010 regional elections. Reorganizing administrative units could incite conflict among residents, and it will be expensive. In the case of Jeju, it was the original plan about turning the whole island into an "international free city" that encouraged the vote in the first place and still only 57 percent voted in favor. That shows you that simplifying local government units is not all that simple.
The top goal of reforming the structure of government is to offer the best possible services to those who live under the local governments in question. Success or failure is determined by how much local residents are behind each reform plan. Only 36.7 percent of provincial voters participated in the referendum, and only 21 percent of the eligible population actually voted to approve the proposal. Legally it has been passed, but conflict could arise in the course of implementation. It is quite probable that there will be more voices calling for reorganization in other areas as well. The most important thing in any situation that lies ahead is that local citizens are made to be active participants in the process and that there is ample debate.
The Hankyoreh, 29 July 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] The Significance and Problems with Jeju Referendum |
