Currently, the special city system of large cities in Korea is required to designate special cities based solely on population. Therefore, there is a problem with the allocation of authority through a uniform standard that does not take into account t...
Currently, the special city system of large cities in Korea is required to designate special cities based solely on population. Therefore, there is a problem with the allocation of authority through a uniform standard that does not take into account the specificity and diversity of each region. The designation of metropolitan cities as special cities needs to take a look at the problems caused by different cultural, economic and environmental specialities, such as the size and concentration of the population, the existence of urban infrastructure, the type and expertise of administrative affairs, the continued growth of demand by residents and conflicts among stakeholders, as well as the ability of local governments to function properly when they are given authority over their own offices and finances.
Therefore, the differential decentralization is actively discussed considering the realistic capabilities of local governments. The differential division is a measure to expand the autonomy of local governments in consideration of various conditions, such as their realistic capabilities and finances, which inevitably leads to the expansion of administrative affairs and increased financial demands. However, within the current legal and institutional scope, the special case system of large cities is relatively lacking in the size of the special financial specialities that can cover financial difficulties caused by the expansion of administrative affairs and the provision of organizational specialties that guarantee professional personnel and institutions to carry out them.
In this study, the formation and transformation process of the special case system of large cities in Korea are analyzed under this problem awareness to understand metropolitan policies and further to analyze the actual situation of administrative, fiscal and organizational special cases based on the principle of supplementation, democracy and efficiency. It was also intended to discuss ways to expand the balanced differential division.