North Jeolla, South Gyeongsang achieve perfect scores in national local government evaluation

North Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province each achieved a perfect 100 percent score in the quantitative portion of the 2026 Joint Evaluation of Local Governments, which covered all 17 cities and provinces nationwide. In the qualitative assessment, Busan and Gyeonggi Province produced the highest number of recognized best practices among metropolitan cities and provinces, respectively.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety released the full results of the 2026 joint local government evaluation on Thursday.

The joint evaluation is an annual system in which the minister of interior and safety, together with the heads of central government agencies, assesses how well cities and provinces have carried out nationally delegated duties, state-subsidized projects and key national policy initiatives — with the aim of ensuring coherence, efficiency and accountability in governance.

This year, for the first time, the ministry designated five key indicators closely tied to daily life — including climate response and safety management — as priority tasks.

The quantitative assessment measured whether each city or province met targets set in consideration of its individual circumstances.

The national average target achievement rate came in at 96.52 percent.

Among metropolitan cities, Ulsan, Sejong and Daegu ranked highest in that order. Among provinces, North Jeolla and South Gyeongsang both hit 100 percent, followed by Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province and North Gyeongsang Province, each at 98.96 percent.

In the qualitative assessment, in which the joint evaluation panel selects best practices, 64 cases were recognized out of 270 candidates.

Among metropolitan cities, Busan led with nine recognized cases, followed by Gwangju with seven and Daegu and Incheon with five each. Among provinces, Gyeonggi Province topped the list with 11 cases, South Gyeongsang with nine, and Gangwon Province and Jeju with three each.

A separate public assessment open to direct citizen participation reviewed 34 best-practice submissions from cities and provinces and selected 10 as outstanding cases.

In the climate response priority category, Busan and South Jeolla Province were recognized as best-practice cases.

Among metropolitan cities, Seoul, Incheon, Gwangju and Ulsan were selected; among provinces, South Jeolla Province, North Chungcheong Province, South Gyeongsang Province and Jeju were recognized.

A public perception survey on safety management found that awareness of local government safety policies and their perceived effectiveness were relatively high, but industrial accident prevention programs were seen as lacking in both policy awareness and effectiveness.

The ministry plans to publish the results on the Naejangalimi website and release a best-practices compendium to share findings with local governments across the country.

Top-performing cities and provinces will also receive fiscal incentives, including special allocation grants, along with group commendations and awards for individuals who contributed to the results.