This study is intended to look into the desirable process of public policy making, particularly by reviewing both the transfer policy of Chonnam Provincial Office and Kwangju·Chonnam integration, on the basis of analysis on significant policy making ...
This study is intended to look into the desirable process of public policy making, particularly by reviewing both the transfer policy of Chonnam Provincial Office and Kwangju·Chonnam integration, on the basis of analysis on significant policy making cases of local governments.
This paper is made up of five chapters. The first chapter deals with goal, scope, and methodology of study and the second explains the definition and process of policy making, followed by major policy making theories, including Allison model.
The third chapter reviews the case of the transfer policy of Chonnam Provincial Office and the procedures of Kwangju·Chonnam Integration. The transfer of Chonnam Provincial Office was delayed in the final decision-making stage, irrespective of its complete project to select alternative place for the office, after the government decision to the effect in 1993.
Then, the provincial governor-elect in June local election in 1995, has proceeded to integrate Kwangju City and Chonnam Province into an united area, which resulted in putting-off of the initiative up until the late 1998. In the wake of the policy failure, the transfer policy remains as of the presence. In the process, seven propensities have emerged : the excessive influence of local government head, the weakness of local council for checking the executive power, the lack of instrument enough to converge public opinion, and the easy-going attitude of central government and structural limitations of party system, and so on.
The problems of the policy-making process are analyzed by the theoretical framework of Allison Model in the fourth chapter. As a result, following problems are suggested. First, there was short of rational decision-making in the integration policy. Second, local government was heavily depended on the capacity of its head. Third, the policy was initiated without sincere reviews of reality-check on the policy agenda setting, creating many conflicts between the two governments.
The fifth chapter makes conclusions. Chonnam government has political controversy and temporal sub-regional conflicts in the renewed policy drive to integrate Kwangju City and Chonnam Province. That is, the transfer policy of provincial office became the object of political model, rather than that of rational model, revealing limitations, such as political reconciliation and lack of policy consistence, regardless of its importance as deciding a destiny of the region as a whole.
Therefore, three alternatives are pinpointed, in order to realize desirable policy making : prudent setting of policy agenda, optimal choice of policy instrument, and rational management of policy changes. We are faced with sizeable changes and uncertainty in the 21st century. Local governments should, in this line, seek rational and democratic decisions in policy making.