[Square] Local Ordinances Must Be Revised First to Innovate On-Site Regulations

It is common to see cases where local governments utilize public assets, which are their properties, for businesses or small-scale commerce. Examples include using part of a local road as an entrance to a gas station or operating a school store in a public school. When the general public wants to use public assets like these, they must pay usage fees according to the "Act on the Management of Public Assets and Goods." If it is difficult to pay the full amount at once, it is also possible to pay in installments with interest. Previously, the interest rate for such installment payments was set by local government ordinances within a range of 2% to 6% per annum, but in July 2016, the law was amended to ease the burden on users of public assets by linking the interest rate to the average interest rate of one-year term deposits at commercial banks. As of this year, the average interest rate for term deposits is about 1.2% to 1.6%, so the installment payment interest rate has decreased.

However, residents in some areas could not immediately feel the effects of this regulatory improvement. This was because local government ordinances did not reflect the amendments in the law and still stipulated interest rates of 3% or 4% per annum, making it difficult for residents to know which interest rate?law or ordinance?applied. The failure of ordinances to timely incorporate changes in higher-level laws prevented the benefits of regulatory improvements from reaching the front lines effectively.

Moreover, there were cases where people leasing public assets such as traditional markets or senior centers were required to deposit a security deposit in addition to the usage fees mandated by law. This imposed a financial burden on small merchants and others without legal grounds.

Our Constitution allows local governments to enact regulations concerning autonomy within the scope of laws. Accordingly, the "Local Autonomy Act" permits local governments to establish ordinances and rules, but only with legal delegation can they restrict residents' rights or impose obligations. Therefore, ordinances or rules cannot contain provisions that contradict higher-level laws. However, as seen above, unreasonable regulations that unfairly impose obligations in local laws affecting daily life still exist.

To improve this situation, the Ministry of Government Legislation investigated local autonomous regulations in 243 local governments nationwide and identified about 20,000 unreasonable cases. These include ordinances imposing fines exceeding amounts set by law and rules adding tax audit requirements not stipulated in laws. These regulations are closely related to residents' daily lives but lack legal basis in higher laws. The Ministry plans to continuously support local governments to promptly revise these identified autonomous regulations.

In addition to discovering and revising unreasonable local regulations, the Ministry of Government Legislation also works to prevent the creation of incorrect provisions in advance. When local governments inquire about contentious issues during the ordinance-making process, the Ministry provides review opinions. It also notifies local governments when matters stipulated by law to be regulated by ordinance are amended, helping them avoid missing the timing for ordinance revisions. This support ensures that autonomous regulations operate rationally and legally.

The national legal system is often compared to the human body, where national laws are the "arteries and veins," and local autonomous regulations such as ordinances and rules are the "capillaries." Just as even the best medicine must be delivered throughout the body via arteries, veins, and capillaries to be effective, good policies must be accurately reflected not only in national laws but also in local autonomous regulations to achieve their intended effects. With decentralization strengthening and the influence of autonomous regulations growing, without revising local regulations?the norms closest to residents?substantial regulatory innovation that citizens can feel will be impossible. Going forward, the Ministry of Government Legislation will continue to cooperate with central ministries and local governments to create good autonomous regulations and strive to ensure that all citizens benefit from government innovation.

Lee Kang-seop, Minister of Government Legislation

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.