지방자치단체의 선거제도 개선방안 - 정당공천제를 중심으로 -

Abstract

Korean local government has been struggling to provide a moral and transparent public service for citizens and to curb bureaucratic corruption. Immoral public service has resulted in a dysfunction that has corroded public confidence and raised conflicts between the government and the people. The Korean autonomy experience in dealing with ethics in public service has shown that a lack of ethical strategies can raise serious obstacles against all efforts to increase social discipline. Korean local government has long suffered from discrepancies between the expected level of performance and its actual performance because of corruption in public service. Many local authorities have been the bastion of influence peddling, bribery, embezzlement and other types of corruption. It is no secret that mayors and council members usually try to recoup their excessive spending of campaign funds after taking office. It appears to be almost impossible to root out corruption unless revolutionary measures are taken immediately. We thus see that a democratic country normally has obligations for pursuing justice and devoting itself to the public interest. These obligations consist of laws, systems, and institutions which are implemented and controlled by the administrative parts of the government. However, it follows that if the government stays blind to the duties of the officials and the corruption of a few of its local elites, then mistrust and confusion in its society will never disappear. Corruption in Korean local government even acted as a foundation spring‐board for the careers of public servants, and as a lubricant for obtaining a sanction and approval. Unless we eradicate corruption from our local society, even the basic frameworks of our nation would be threatened ; and by not acting we can not strengthen our competitiveness. Thus, the issue of ‘corruption’ has to be explored for many reasons, and we must analyze how to create effective implementation of anti‐corruption measures. This research paper is trying to cast light on corruption from many different viewpoints. The key points the co-authors emphasize are as follows :First, to examine the cases of corrupted bribery accidents which were noted for their party in local autonomy. Second, to define each of the functions and problems of those local election systems, which are the local councils in the USA, Japan and European countries. Lastly, to understand how we review the current legal situation with respect to Korean local corruption, and to find possible countermeasures by focusing on the local council and government of Korea.