제주특별자치도 읍·면·동 행정의 기능강화에 관한 연구

Abstract

본 연구는 제주특별자치도 읍·면·동 행정의 기능강화에 관한 것이다. 1948년 제주도제 실시이후 읍·면·동은 읍·면자치제 폐지, 지방자치시대 개막, 읍·면·동 기능전환정책 시행 등 지방행정 60년사 변화과정 속에서도 주민 생활행정의 구심체로서 지역단위 종합행정 기능을 수행해왔으며 특히 2006년 7월 1일 단일광역행정체제인 제주특별자치도 출범과 함께 특별자치도 완성을 위한 읍·면·동 역할의 중요성이 거론되었지만 읍·면·동의 기능과 권한의 확대는 제도적 측면에 있어 기대에 못 미치고 있는 것이 현실이다. 이에 본 연구는 우리나라와 제주특별자치도의 읍·면·동제의 변천사, 그리고 읍·면·동의 지위와 기능 등을 살펴보고 제주특별자치도 시행 전·후의 읍·면·동의 조직, 인력, 사무배분 등을 비교 분석하고 읍·면·동의 기능과 권한 강화 정책에 대한 설문조사를 통해 문제점을 진단하여 제주특별자치도 행정체제하에 읍·면·동 행정의 발전방안을 제시하는데 목적이 있다. 연구의 시간적 범위는 특별자치도 출범전인 2006년부터 특별자치도 출범 2차년도인 2007년 12월까지이고 공간적 범위는 43개 읍·면·동이다. 연구방법은 문헌연구과 설문조사를 이용한 실증연구를 병행하였다. 제주특별자치도 출범 전·후의 읍·면·동 행정역량을 비교분석하기 위하여 2007년 11월에 공무원 289명, 지역주민 236명을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였으며 설문문항은 공무원은 직무만족과 기능강화, 지역주민은 행정서비스에 중점을 두고 구성하였다. 제주특별자치도제 시행이후 읍·면·동 행정은 조직 확대, 인력 증원, 예산확대, 행정계층간 사무배분을 통해 지역단위 종합행정기능을 강화하는데 노력하였으나 설문조사 결과 다소 기대에 못 미치는 것으로 나타났으며 문제점을 요약하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 사무인력과 조직이 확대되었음에도 불구하고 공무원과 지역주민들이 만족도가 크게 향상 되지 않았다. 둘째, 직원 상호간의 사무배분의 불합리성으로 직원간 위화감이 조성되었다. 셋째, 시대변화와 주민 욕구에 부응한 적극적인 업무처리 자세 확립을 위한 업무연찬이 부족하였다. 넷째, 기관내 부서간 업무협조가 부족하고 상위 직급이 많아 조직구성원간 위화감이 조성되었다. 다섯째, 읍·면·동 기능강화를 위해 예산지원이 확대되었으나 인구, 면적 등을 고려하지 않고 획일적으로 배분됨으로써 지역간 형평성 문제가 발생하였다. 여섯째, 상급기관 근무를 선호함으로써 조직에 대한 충성도와 근무의욕이 떨어졌으며 상급기관의 관심과 배려 또한 미흡하였다. 일곱째, 지역주민의 자치역량 함양을 위한 프로그램이 부재하여 지역주민들의 자발적 참여를 이끌어 내지 못하였다. 여덟째, 주민자치센터 전담직원의 전문성 부족으로 전국 최초로 법정 기구화된 주민자치센터 운영 내실화에 한계점이 드러났다. 아홉째, 지역주민들은 특별자치도 출범 후 행정시스템의 획기적인 변화에 대한 기대욕구는 높았으나 생활불편 민원발생, 기초 자치단체 폐지에 따라 높아진 행정기관의 문턱 등으로 행정 불신현상이 나타났으나 주민들의 욕구를 해소할 시스템이 부재하였다. 이에 설문조사 분석결과를 토대로 제주특별자치도의 읍·면·동은 여타 지역과 달리 민원·복지·문화·정보 등의 서비스기능뿐만 아니라 주민참여 행정의 중심으로 즉 지역공동체 형성의 구심체로서 역할을 수행할 수 있도록 읍·면·동 행정을 「자치」원리에서 접근하여 중앙과 지방간의 분권처럼 제주특별자치도 행정계층간에도 엄격한 분권형 문화를 조성하여야 한다는 관점에서 조직, 인력, 사무, 예산, 주민자치센터 등 읍·면·동 행정역량 발전방안을 제시하였다. 결론적으로 제주특별자치도 출범 후 읍·면·동은 동네 민주주의와 주민자치의 거점이자 주민과 직접 대면하는 최 일선 행정기관으로 주민등록업무 등 민원행정업무뿐만 아니라 주민생활과 직결된 종합행정 기능이 부활되고 주민자치센터의 법정 기구화로 기능과 권한이 한층 더 부여된 만큼 제주특별자치도 행정체제에 부합된 읍·면·동의 새로운 모델정립과 이를 실행하기 위한 행·재정 지원이 확대되어야 할 것이다.

This study is about the reinforcement of the administrative functions of Hamlets (Eups), Villages (Myeons), and Townships (Dongs) in the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. Since the implementation of the Jeju Province system in 1948, Hamlets, Villages, and Townships have performed the functions of the locally composite administration as the center of living administration for residents even in the process of changes over 60 years of local administration, including the abolition of the Hamlet and Villageself-governing system, the opening of local self-governing system, and the implementation of the functional conversion policy for Hamlets, Villages, and Townships. In particular, the increase in functions and authorities fails to meet the expectations in the institutional aspect, though the roles of Hamlets, Villages, and Townships were considered as important in completing the special self-governing province together with the launch of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, which is a single integrated administration system, on July 1, 2006. The purpose of this study was: to investigate the changes in Hamlet, Village, and Township systems in Korea and in the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the positions and functions of Hamlets, Villages, and Townships to make a comparative analysis of structures, personnel, and work distribution between, before, and after the implementation of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province; to examine problems through a survey of policies to reinforce the functions and authorities of Hamlets, Villages, and Townships and to present a scheme to improve administration of Hamlets, Villages, and Townships under the administrative system of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. The research was conducted from 2006, before the launch of the Special Self-Governing Province, to December 2007, the second year of the implementation in 43 Hamlets, Villages, and Townships. The literature review was carried out, along with an empirical research using a survey. To make a comparative analysis of the administrative capacity of the Hamlets, Villages, and Townships between, before, and after the launch of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, a survey was conducted with 289 civil servants and 236 local residents in November 2007, with questions focusing on job satisfaction and functional reinforcement for civil servants and administrative service for local residents. As for the administration of Hamlets, Villages, and Townships after the implementation of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, efforts were made to reinforce the functions of locally composite administration through organizational expansion, the increase in personnel, the increase in budget, and the work distribution among the administrative levels, failing to meet expectations. According to the survey, problems can be summarized as follows: First, despite the increase in office personnel and organizational expansion, there was no significant improvement in satisfaction among civil servants and local residents. Second, irrationality in work distribution among employees resulted in a sense of incongruity among them. Third, there was a lack of substantial studies on the work to establish active attitudes toward duty execution in coping with temporal changes and residents'requirements. Fourth, intra-institution cooperative working was lacking, and lots of upper titles resulted in a sense of incongruity among organizational members. Fifth, there was an increase in budgetary support to reinforce the functions of Hamlets, Villages, and Townships; however, the uniform distribution with no consideration of population or area, caused problems in equity among regions. Sixth, the preference for working in a superior institution resulted in a drop in loyalty and a desire for working, with poor concerns or considerations given by a superior institution. Seventh, with no program to cultivate the self-governing capacity for local residents, there was failure in the inducement of spontaneous participation by local residents. Eighth, with a lack of expertise among special employees in the residents' self-governing centers, there were limitations in substantializing the operation of residents' self-governing centers legalized for the first time in Korea. Ninth, while local residents showed high expectation for epoch-making changes in the administrative system after the launch of the special self-governing province, they showed a lack of belief in the administration due to the occurrence of civil affairs of living inconveniences and lower accessibility to administrative institutions after abolition of the fundamental self-governing organization, with no system to meet their requirements. On the basis of the analysis of the survey results, it is necessary to approach the Hamlets, Villages, and Townships in the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province as the administrative center for residents' participation as well as the service functions of civil affairs, welfare, culture, and information, contrary to other regions. In other words, it is necessary to approach them from the principle of 'autonomy' so that they can perform their duties as the center for forming a local community, forming strictly decentralized culture among the administrative levels in the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province like the center-region decentralization. In this respect, a scheme to improve the administrative capacity for the Hamlets, Villages, and Townships, including the organizations, personnel, official work, budget, and residents' self-governing centers, was presented. In conclusion, since the Hamlets, Villages, and Townships got many more functions and authority with revived composite administration directly connected to the residents' living and legalized residents' self-governing centers, as well as civil affair administration works, including resident registration work, as the frontline administrative institution directly meeting residents and as the base of residents' self-governing and village democracy after the launch of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, it is necessary to establish a new model of Hamlets, Villages, and Townships suitable for the administrative system in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and increase the administrative and financial support for the establishment.