Who runs local government in South Korea?
South Korea has two levels of elected local government: 17 upper-level units (Seoul, six metropolitan cities, Sejong, and nine provinces including three 'special self-governing' provinces) and 226 lower-level cities, counties and autonomous districts. Heads of government and councils at both levels are directly elected every four years, as are education superintendents. Below them are about 3,500 administrative units (*eup*, *myeon* and *dong*) run by appointed officials, which are further divided into *tong* and *ban* (in rural areas *ri*) led by part-time resident heads appointed by the eup, myeon or dong head.
Republic of Korea · Unitary presidential republic · Eastern Asia
The levels of government below the nation
| Level | How it is chosen | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Upper-level local governments (17): 1 special city (Seoul), 6 metropolitan cities, 1 special self-governing city (Sejong), 6 provinces, 3 special self-governing provinces (Jeju, Gangwon, Jeonbuk) | Mayor or governor and council directly elected for four years; superintendent of education also directly elected | Regional planning, roads, transport, police support (autonomous police), education (via the education office). |
| Lower-level local governments (226): cities (si), counties (gun), autonomous districts (gu) | Mayor/county head/district head and council directly elected for four years | Local welfare, waste, local roads, permits, culture. |
| Eup, myeon, dong (about 3,500) | Heads are civil servants appointed by the city, county or district head | Administrative service centres: registration, welfare applications, community centres. Not self-governing. |
| Tong, ri and ban (neighbourhood units) | Tong head (tongjang), ri head (ijang) and ban head (banjang) are local residents appointed under municipal ordinances and rules by the head of the eup, myeon or dong, often after local recommendation | Part-time, paid an allowance: pass on notices, check resident registration, help with welfare outreach, civil defence and disaster tasks, under the supervision of the dong head. |
Three questions about local power in South Korea
Are local leaders elected?
Mayors, governors, county and district heads, councillors and education superintendents are all directly elected. Eup/myeon/dong heads are appointed civil servants; tong, ri and ban heads are appointed residents, not elected.
Which laws set up local government?
Local government is in the Constitution (Arts. 117–118) and the Local Autonomy Act; tong and ban heads are set up by municipal ordinances; residents' councils are formal advisory bodies; clan and village customs are informal.
Who are local leaders accountable to?
Voters, including through recall votes on elected heads and councillors (Act on Residents' Recall); councils; central ministries and the Board of Audit and Inspection; courts. Tong and ban heads can be dismissed by the dong head who appointed them.
Traditional and customary authority
There is no formal traditional authority. Clan (lineage) associations, village elders and rituals for village guardian spirits survive in some rural areas, and churches and Buddhist temples run many social services, but none has public powers.
Community and neighbourhood power
Residents' autonomy committees and residents' councils (jumin jachi-hoe) attached to eup/myeon/dong offices let volunteer residents propose local projects and, in some places, help decide participatory budgets. Apartment complexes, where most people live, have elected residents' representative councils that manage maintenance and fees under housing law. Tong and ban heads link these residents to the dong office.
Points to know
- Local autonomy was suspended under military rule in 1961 and fully restored with elected heads only in 1995.
- Jeju, Gangwon (2023) and Jeonbuk (2024) have 'special self-governing province' status with extra powers.
- In a Seoul district ordinance, the tong head is also the leader of the local civil defence unit.
- Nationwide local elections are held every four years on the same day; the ninth were scheduled for 3 June 2026.
Local terms
- Eup / myeon / dong
- Administrative units below a city or county: a town, a rural township and an urban neighbourhood.
- Tong / ban
- Neighbourhood sub-units of a dong; a ban is a group of a few dozen households.
- Tongjang
- The appointed resident head of a tong.
Sources
- Republic of Korea's Constitution of 1948 with Amendments through 1987 (Arts. 117–118), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
- Ordinance on the establishment of tong and ban, Jongno-gu, Seoul (서울특별시종로구통·반설치조례), National Law Information Center, Ministry of Government Legislation, Korea, checked 14 October 2026
- National Election Commission (English), National Election Commission, Republic of Korea, checked 14 October 2026
- Ministry of the Interior and Safety (English), Government of the Republic of Korea, checked 14 October 2026
- Country profile: Korea (subnational government), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
See also: South Korea's official statistics and leaders · the 10 levels of power.