2024-04-30 16:40:00
“Regulatory innovation” is just a lip service to government and politicians. Local government regulations, 39,487 → 40,164 cases Among 226 cities, counties and districts, regulations decreased by “0 places” Central ministries also increased by 4.2% to 47,640 cases.
Although regulatory innovation is a key national task of the current government, it was found that among the 226 grassroots local governments across the country, not a single one has seen a decline in regulation since the launch of the current government. The total amount of regulation, not only by local authorities but also by the central government, has increased by more than 4%. Although the government and politicians are calling for regulatory innovation, this is still limited to slogans, and it is emphasized that both ruling and opposition parties should actively participate in regulatory innovation in the new National Assembly formed following the general elections.
Following a joint analysis by Dong-A Ilbo on the 30th with Professor Jeong-wook Lee and Professor Hong Soon-man from Yonsei University and CG Inside, an intelligence-based data solutions company Artificial Intelligence (AI), the total number of regulations by local governments stood at 40,164 at the end of last year. It increased by 1.7% compared to the end of May 2022 (39,487 cases) immediately following the inauguration of this government. Notably, among the 226 basic local governments in the country, there is not a single one where the total number of ordinances and rules has decreased since the inception of this government. There were 21 local governments where the total number of ordinances and rules increased by more than 5%. This represents around 10% of all local authorities.
The number of regulations in 43 central ministries, including government ministries and committees, also increased by 4.2 percent, from 45,720 to 47,640 during the same period. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport saw the largest increase in the number of regulations under its jurisdiction, increasing by 189 (2.8%) to 6,966. Regulations from the Ministry of Employment and Labor (7.2%), the Financial Services Commission (4.4%) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (3.8%) also increased significantly. The “regulatory age”, which refers to the period of time maintained following the introduction of regulations, was almost twice that of central local governments in local governments. The regulatory age of central ministries was 6.9 years and that of basic local governments was 13.2 years. As the policy environment evolves, regulations must continue to evolve, but local governments make relatively little effort to do this compared to central ministries, and sometimes even revisions to laws are not properly reflected in regulations local.
Lee Jeong-wook, professor of public administration at Yonsei University (director of the National Management Research Institute of Yonsei University), said: “The government and politicians are openly calling for regulatory innovation, but the capacity and efforts to make this a reality are greatly lacking,” adding: “Also lacking is the ruling party’s commitment to “advance regulatory management” in this general election. “This shows the perception that regulatory reform so far has not been enough,” he said. Even during the first meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on the 29th of last month, regulatory innovation was not on the agenda. Some voices are being raised that in the future, ruling and opposition parties must actively discuss resolving regulations that hinder businesses and citizens.
40,164 local regulations… I don’t even know they have the power to lift the “early morning delivery” regulations.
[정부-지자체 규제 다 늘었다]
Grassroots organizations “banned by the Gangwon-do ordinance”
Gangwon-do: “It is not possible because of government regulations”…The government “has the authority to communicate regulations to grassroots organizations”
Local governments remain passive in their relaxations, even if the laws are revised… “Shadow regulations” through notices and ordinances are also produced.
“I understand that this is not possible due to the Gangwon-do ordinance.” A grassroots local government official in the Gangwon area recently responded as follows to a Dong-A Ilbo reporter’s question regarding why early morning delivery from major supermarkets is not possible In the region. I checked with Gangwon-do, but a provincial official said, “There is no such ordinance.” “I understand that early morning delivery is not possible due to government regulations,” he said. But the central government’s words were different. An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said: “There is a provision in the law that says ‘local government heads may regulate,’ so in reality it is the authority of heads of basic local governments. »
This is a clear example of the difficulty of reforming local government regulations. In reality, local governments have a number of regulations, but they do not recognize them as their authority in the field and, therefore, they inevitably lack the will to improve excessive regulations. Even if the central government improves higher-level laws, there are many cases where this is not reflected in the lower-level regulations actually enforced in local areas, and local governments often create confusion among businesses and residents with their own regulations. It is emphasized that for regulatory reform to be felt, improvement work must be carried out simultaneously not only at the central government level but also at the local government level.
● Even if higher-level laws change, local governments continue to regulate
Domestic retailers continued to demand that regulations on early morning deliveries to offline stores across the country be lifted. They want to launch an early morning delivery service in small and medium-sized towns using offline stores operating across the country as logistics centers, but they are hampered by regulations that prohibit large supermarkets from doing business or perform distribution and logistics work early in the morning. hours of the morning.
Under current laws, local governments must step in to resolve this problem. The Distribution Industry Development Law only states that “mayors, county governors, district heads, etc. may restrict the opening hours of large supermarkets from midnight to 10 a.m., but does not impose restrictions on opening hours. Regulations may be relaxed as necessary at the discretion of local government leaders. However, at present, no local government has implemented an early morning delivery service. An official from the distribution sector pointed out: “Early morning delivery service is possible as soon as the local government decides, but the ground is not even aware of it. »
Even though the higher-level laws that form the basis of local regulations have changed, there are many cases where local governments remain passive in easing regulations. A small business in Gangwon-do paid 5.48 million won in exchange for permission to occupy land in a small river area in 2022. As land prices soared, occupancy fees have increased by 8.3% compared to last year. However, this does not reflect the change in law that the small river occupancy fee should not be increased by more than 5% from the previous year. Local governments have recently begun to relax their regulations, only following receiving such criticism from the central government. An official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups explained: “As occupancy fees are levied every year, the cost burden on small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners is considerable, but many local authorities did not properly take into account revisions from higher levels. laws in their ordinances, so we corrected that.
● Mass production of various “shadow regulations” such as notices and orders
Confusion sometimes arises on the ground due to orders issued by local governments themselves rather than based on central government laws. Recently, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council passed an ordinance on “Establishing a Disposable-Free School”, requiring all schools in the region to investigate and disclose the use of disposable products annually. Then protests broke out in kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools across the region, asking: “Do we have to record the purchase details every time we buy a paper cup?” Then, the Gyeonggi Provincial Education Office proposed a compromise plan to significantly simplify the submission of disposable product purchase details and re-announced it.
On the ground, there are complaints that various local government ordinances that are not based on laws or opinions removed from the intent of the laws, or “shadow regulations,” make it more difficult for businesses. Since these hidden regulations are not covered by the central government, local government regulations often do not disappear, even when ministries improve their laws.
Hong Soon-man, professor of public administration at Yonsei University, said: “As with the opening hours of large supermarkets, the regulatory power of local governments is quite broad, and there are also many “shadow regulations”. by local governments, such as notices of directives and regulations. “We need to reduce regulations that cause inconvenience to businesses and residents, even using regulatory guidelines,” he said. Kim Tae-yoon, professor of public administration at Hanyang University, pointed out: “Some local governments create confusion by creating unbalanced regulations. We also need to consider whether some regulations are excessive and undermine the regulatory objective. higher level laws.
Sejong = journalist Kim Do-hyung dodo@donga.com
Sejong = reporter Lee Ho number2@donga.com
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#단독Under #Yeon #administration #local #government #regulations #strengthened
