Even though conflict has been prevalent across the nation, it has not appeared on the surface because economic development has been a top priority during the promotion of the government-led highway development project. Due to the growth of citizenship...
Even though conflict has been prevalent across the nation, it has not appeared on the surface because economic development has been a top priority during the promotion of the government-led highway development project. Due to the growth of citizenship through globalization, democracy and informatization, however, citizens and NGOs have started to raise their voices in public policies and oppose the government’s one-way policymaking (DAD). As a result, a conflict has occurred. The locals were opposed to the highway construction, and this kind of public resistance was called ‘NIMBY Syndrome.’ Because of the participation of various interested parties, it is very complicated to establish and promote a policy.
First, the government-led highway development project has drawn resistance from interested parties and local residents because of the conventional procedure (DAD: Decide Announce Do) based on economic and scientific rationality just like the Saemaeul Project during the 1970s. Instead of sticking to the conventional method which excludes these people in the decision making, it is necessaryto come up with a new decision-making method which permits the locals’ participation.
Second, social conflict caused by the local government-led highway construction has developed into a rivalry to take over authority and rare resources. As ‘confrontation and conflict’continue without social consent and alternative development & conservation, however, variousdiscontents such as the alternation and discontinuance of the mid & long-term highway construction project have appeared on the surface. In other words, social expenses which occur in the process of rapid economic growth and social development are a phenomenon of social conflict which takes place due to a lack of the infrastructure to prevent and solve this kind of conflict. Because of social avoidance of the highway construction project, conflict among central government, local government, local residents and NGOs has increased. As a result, the government urgently needs to come up with a solution. In terms of a solution of the conflict, this study has classified conflict types by case and set a research hypothesis in order to examine the causes of conflict between central and local governments. In addition, it has attempted to comparatively analyze the progress of each road construction project and the conflict process and solve the problems in the highway development project through a case study on central government-led highway construction projects (Seoul Outer Circular Expressway (Ilsan-Toegyewon), Yongin-Seoul Expressway) and government-led highway construction projects (The 3rd Gyeongin Expressway, the 2ndJayu Expressway). In terms of a solution to the conflict, the following has been proposed: securing budget, expansion of local participation, expert education & training and improvement of law & system. It is also necessaryto perform a feasibility review, hold a session with the locals, secure a budget and provide project-related information. In terms of a solution to the conflict, it appears that a central government-led project would be better than a local government-led project.
In terms of a solution to the conflict between central and local governments, this study proposes to come up with a policy alternative for promotion of the road construction project based on the suggestions from the improvement plan and case study, collect local opinions and have them reflected in the policy, improve laws and systems and secure budget.