한국지방행정연구원

On 5 November 2025, the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration (KRILA), the Graduate School of Public Policy at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), and Sejong Special Self-Governing City jointly hosted the 31st Korea–Japan Regional Policy Forum at the 5th-floor Grand Conference Room of Sejong City Hall.

This year’s forum was held in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the revival of elected local governments in Korea and the 30th anniversary of Japan’s enactment of the Local Autonomy Promotion Act, under the theme “Review of 30 Years of Local Self-Governance and Future Policy Directions,” focusing on the development experiences of local government systems in both countries and their future policy trajectories.

From the Japanese side:

• Professor Inoue Yasuo (GRIPS) emphasised the need to transfer wider authorities and expand fiscal autonomy in his presentation “Remaining Challenges of the First Phase of Local Autonomy Reform and Future Outlook.”

• Professor Ogawa Yamato (Kansai Gakuin University) introduced the changes in Japan’s local areas—such as population decline and regional imbalances—and presented corresponding strategic responses.

From the Korean side:

• Director Choi Jimin (KRILA) proposed the necessity of inter-regional collaborative governance systems and strengthening substantive decentralisation in her presentation “Achievements of 30 Years of Local Self-Governance and the Way Forward.”

• Director Jang Minju (Sejong City) introduced Sejong’s administrative-capital model and its innovation policies in “Sejong, the Administrative Capital of Korea and a Leading City for National Balanced Development: Present and Future.”

In the subsequent discussion, participants including Professor Kim Chandong (Chungnam National University), Professor Oh Seungeun (Jeju National University), Director Go Cheolyong (Sejong National Balanced Development Support Centre), Vice-President Takada Hirofumi, and Emeritus Professor Yokomichi Kiyotaka examined issues such as restructuring the central-local relationship, expanding citizen participation, and building a supra-regional governance framework.

KRILA President Yook Dong-il remarked that “Sejong is a new administrative-capital model where central administration and local self-governance coexist, symbolising national balanced growth and decentralisation.” He added, “This forum has become a meaningful starting point for sharing 30 years of local self-governance experience and for Korea and Japan together building a sustainable regional development and cooperative decentralisation framework.” He further stated, “KRILA will continue to support this Korea–Japan Regional Policy Forum as a policy-cooperation platform rooted in mutual trust and exchange, helping advance the development of local governments in both countries.”