The local council plays three(3) important roles as follows: (1) ‘representation of the residents’ such as approving budget and settlement on behalf of the citizens, (2) ‘legislation for the local government’ such as handing petitions, appeals, etc., enacting, amending, and abolishing ordinances within the scope of laws and regulations, and (3) ‘administrative monitoring’ such as auditing, investigating, consenting to, approving, and reporting administrative affairs, and deliberating important policies.

The local government is composed of a local council and executive organizations. Their roles are divided: while the local council is a decision-making body, the executive organizations perform office work. Therefore, the local council does not have the power to execute office work and has an institutional strategy to have the executive organizations realize what the local council has decided to execute, which leads the two parties into close cooperation with each other.

The local council, performing the three important functions of representation of the citizens, legislation of ordinances, and administrative monitoring, is not only a representative body for residents but also a decision-making body for the local government. Therefore, the council is expected to play a role as a representative who gathers and listens to administrative demands and acts for the residents’ interests, an expositor who explains the stances of the executive organizations, a supervisor who gives reasonable administrative guidance to the executive organizations based on the genuine ideas of the residents, a moderator who reconciles between the residents and the administrative bodies to ensure the smooth and efficient settlement of local problems through early diagnosis of the problems standing between residents’ convenience and administrative efficiency, and a defender who cooperates for the growth and development of the nation and speaks for the characteristics and interests of the local community.