This is especially true in local governments where
the disenchantment with the traditional political and policy
processes have alienated many would-be-participants
in local governments. This required a change in
the local governance mode and many municipalities
have been experimenting with a community governance
regime under which they seek to entice the cooperation
from various local stakeholder groups. This of course
generated criticisms from various quarters, especially
local councils, which raised the fundamental issue of
local democracy as more non-elected bodies and socalled
public interest groups were gaining power at the
expense of elected politicians. The issue that has particularly
gained momentum and legitimized the role of these
interest groups and community-based organization concerns
the community development and housing projects,
very complex issues that required the participation of
and resources of all participants. Also, note that the pursuance
of highly touted e-government and the high-technology-
based infrastructure programs in Korea enabled
the creation of virtual networks which complemented the existing networks of advocacy groups and community-
based organizations