Most sister-city ties prove fruitless

Local governments have competitively established sisterhood relationships with foreign cities, advocating internationalism or globalization since the implementation of the local autonomy system, but such ties have not reaped any particular fruits because they were initiated not by the civic sector but by the government side.

In particular, heads of local governments or members of local councils visit the sister cities during their overseas inspection trips, but their visits have been merely formal, inviting criticism that they are a waste of money.

The number of local autonomous bodies that have concluded sisterhood ties or administrative treaties with foreign cities increased sharply after the direct election of heads of the local governments was introduced in 1995.

In the case of South Kyongsang Province, it had established sisterhood ties with only three cities -- Yamaguchi, Japan; Shantung, China; and Maryland, United States -- before 1995, but now it has 10 sister cities, including Havarovsk of Russia.

Pusan Metropolitan City maintains sisterhood relationships with 15 cities in 15 countries, increased by five since 1995. North Kyongsang Province set up ties with four of its current six foreign cities under the governor elected by popular vote, while North Chungchong Province three out of the current five.

North Cholla Province established sisterhood ties with three of its current four, and South Cholla Province two of the current three after 1995. In particular, South Cholla concluded administrative treaties with seven local governments in foreign countries, including Indonesia, under the name of administrative exchanges.

Each local government has sent an overseas inspection team or mission to its sister cities under the pretext of exchanges, but most of the visits were simple sightseeing tours. The local governments also claim that they establish sisterhood ties with foreign cities to use them as bridgeheads for their overseas marketing. Yet most of the projects with the foreign cities were exchanges of cultural performances or mothers¡¯ volleyball teams.

Pusan had a total of 46 exchange events with its 10 sister cities at a cost of 1 billion won this year, but most of them were goodwill or cultural events.

Taejon Metropolitan City, known to be doing well comparatively in projects for exchange and cooperation with foreign cities, sent teams of city officials and council members on four occasions this year, but their activities to develop new markets were evaluated to be insufficient. City officials are racking their brains over working out appropriate measures.

¡°The sisterhood ties can be of significance if they are expanded to substantial economic exchanges such as market exploitation,¡± Cha Jun-Il, chief of the international cooperation department of the Taejon city government, said. ¡°And then cooperation between cities can be made continuously.¡±

Meanwhile, North Kyongsang is appraised for its efficient sisterhood ties with Shimane Prefecture of Japan through exchanges of their respective officials and vocational technician teams.

Experts point out as a major problem that the local governments promote the sisterhood relationship with foreign cities just for officials-oriented exchanges and for a record of an achievement without sufficient examination at the cost of enormous taxpayer money.

Chongju City Hall of North Chungchong dispatched a 142-resident visitor group at the expense of 60 million won this month to Totori of Japan to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the sisterhood ties with it. But 41 percent, or 59 of the 142 members, were city officials, and 35 of them who worked for the recent Chongju Printing and Publishing Fair were accompanied by their wives.

Kwangju Metropolitan City pushed through the signing of a sisterhood relationship with Medan, Indonesia, ignoring a strong opposition based on the uneasy political situation there in 1997. Yet the expected economic exchanges were trifling.

North Cholla has had almost no exchanges with its sister cities, except Kagoshima of Japan.

¡°The local governments should not forget the fact that the purpose of overseas exchange programs, either economic or cultural ones, is to benefit citizens,¡± Park Jae-Yul, secretary general of Pusan Participatory Autonomous Citizens¡¯ Solidarity, said. ¡°Such projects should be carried out under civilian, not the government, initiatives.¡±

Cho Yong-Hui silent@donga.com