07/02/2009
Korea: Democracy or Efficiency?
In the light of the planned reorganization of local governments in South Korea which aims at increasing efficiency and overcoming antagonisms, the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty invited a number of experts to a conference in an attempt to bring forward arguments that would strengthen local autonomy and civic participation.
For the time being, various draft laws have been submitted to the Korean parliament. They range from a purely administrative reform that would abolish the three—tier structure of the administration, therefore, further strengthening the authority of the central government, to the introduction of a competitive federal system. The current Korean constitution of local government is as yet under the strong impact of the Japanese Colonial Period (1910-1945), which basically makes them decentralized subordinate bodies of the central administration. Hence, local communities are narrowly restricted in their legislative power over local issues.
In his statement, Walter Klitz, representative to the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation in Korea, emphasized that every reorganization of local government should be confronted with the question whether it strengthens or weakens local autonomy. Decentralized structures, according to Mr. Klitz, are part of a very sensitive system of checks and balances and consequently a constitutive element of a federal division of powers.
In her presentation, Ms. Sabine Mecking, professor at the Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf, held that democracy and efficiency are by no means opposed one to the other but coexist, though not without tensions, requiring constant efforts to balance out efficiency and legitimacy. This, she said, has to be kept in mind when interfering with established structures of local autonomy.
The Korean contributors as well as the more than 120 participants of the conference seemed convinced that South Korean democracy has a good chance to move forward and that efforts, to put the historical clock back, can be checked.
Please have a look at our video on the conference. view eventbox.
