지방분권과 지방소멸 대응방안 - 이른바 ‘지방소멸’에 직면한 지방자치의 현실과 대응책을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This paper is about decentralization and countermeasures against local annihilation. In the meantime, there have been efforts for true local autonomy, such as the enactment of the Decentralization Act, the Local Transition Act, the Autonomous Police Act, and the complete revision of the Local Autonomy Act. Despite the enactment and revision efforts, the concentration of the population in the metropolitan area has deepened. The concentration of the population in the metropolitan area has deepened, and the population is declining due to the low birth rate, and even in large cities in the provinces, the population is decreasing, leading to so-called 'local annihilation'. It is very painful. For nearly 30 years since the implementation of local autonomy, all efforts have been made for local autonomy and decentralization, but all efforts have been in vain. Although legislation to prevent the low birth rate and concentration in the metropolitan area, such as the Basic Act on Low Fertility and Aging Society, the Metropolitan Area Reorganization Planning Act, and the Special Act for Balanced National Development, had already been established long ago, polarization deepens and concentration in the metropolitan area deepens, In order to respond to the low birth rate and prevent the disappearance of provinces, it is necessary to focus on improving the quality of life of the people. A shift in thinking is also necessary. Policy should not focus solely on population density, but on economic power and quality of life. We should aim for qualitative growth, not just quantitative growth. In order to solve the local population decline and local annihilation due to the low birth rate and concentration in the metropolitan area, it is not enough to stay with the population policy alone. Reform the overall welfare and social security system, including job instability, low-wage, low-quality jobs in the labor market, high housing costs, high private education costs, and the burden of childbirth and childcare, and Efforts for balanced development should be made together, and the improvement of the legal system should be supported for this purpose. And, in addition to this, above all else, it is necessary to break away from metropolitan centralism. In particular, it is necessary to reform the centralized structure in which the national land plan or development plan is decided regardless of the local will. The decision-making structure of the central government or the centralized legislative structure of the National Assembly is a major obstacle to local autonomy and decentralization. An appropriate balance of power between the central and local governments is needed.