Issue Weakening functions of local administration

Summary

Population decline and fiscal fragility are eroding local governments' ability to provide basic services such as policing, fire protection, welfare, education and culture. In depopulating areas a vicious circle is forming in which a shrinking tax base degrades services, driving further out-migration and accelerating regional extinction. Korea's administrative system was built on population thresholds for towns, counties and cities, but the growing share of small jurisdictions and very low fiscal self-reliance in many counties are exposing its limits. Consolidation of police and fire services, slower emergency response, reduced health centres and welfare facilities, staff cuts and the loss of young officials are widening service gaps, while digital administration lags for lack of people and infrastructure. The survey expects a restructuring of local administration around daily-life zones, more flexible tiers and wider-area cooperation such as special local governments, noting that every scenario shows local administrative contraction as a shared risk.