Gov't move to alter Sejong City project triggers fresh debate

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- Protracted political wrangling over a government plan
to relocate a number of ministries and official agencies to the newly created
Sejong City in central South Korea is set to enter into a new phase, as aides of
President Lee Myung-bak have suggested downsizing the project.
The project to build Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province, about 160km south
of Seoul, was first conceived in 2002 as a presidential campaign promise by then
ruling Democratic Party (DP) candidate Roh Moo-hyun, a champion of balanced
regional development. Explosive support from Chungcheong voters swayed the result
of a very close presidential race in favor of Roh at that time.
Originally aimed at relocating the nation's capital from Seoul to Sejong, the 22
trillion won (US$18.2 billion) project has since been revised with the new aim of
building a city that can house nine ministries and four major administrative
bodies, including the prime minister's office, as well as a population of about
half a million.
Fearful of a political backlash in Chungcheong, the incumbent Lee administration
has refrained from any mention of possibly revising or downsizing the Sejong City
project. But Lee's new prime minister, Chung Un-chan, has publicly spoken out
against the project, incurring fierce protests from the DP and other opposition
parties.
Leaders of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) have also begun to show support
for Chung, who has repeatedly called the project "inefficient."
According to political watchers, presidential aides and GNP leaders apparently
believe that the government may have to seek alternative plans for the city
because the relocation will never achieve its intended goal.
An official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has told Yonhap News Agency
that a change to the plan was imperative, adding a recent study conducted by the
office showed the actual size of the city's population would be under 30,000.
"Such a large difference from 600,000 is because they had assumed all the
families of officials at the ministries will move down to the city as well. But
the reality is most people will just move down by themselves or commute from
their homes in Seoul because they want their children to continue their education
here," the official said, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of
the issue.
The official added only some 30 percent of officials surveyed at ministries
subject to a possible relocation said they would bring their families to Sejong
City if they were relocated there.
Any modification to the current plan will likely include minimizing the number of
government offices to be moved to Sejong, according to the official, because the
government believes a division of ministries will seriously undermine efficiency
while significantly adding to costs.
A possible alternative being considered is to develop the new city into a
national science or green-growth hub that would bring the same, if not greater,
economic development to the central region.
Despite the need to modify the plan, the government faces a dilemma in that
President Lee had promised to implement the plan as it was while campaigning for
his election in 2007.
The government appeared to have begun leaking news of an imminent change to the
Sejong City plan when Prime Minister Chung said in his confirmation hearing that
the plan cannot be executed as it was, prompting immediate accusations from
opposition parties that President Lee and his government were getting ready to
retract their earlier pledges.
Chung, speaking on Friday at a meeting of residents from Chungcheong provinces,
said, "We are still studying the plan and nothing has been decided."
An informed government source noted the remarks only meant the administration
believes the moment was not yet "ripe" for breaking the news in its entirety.
A senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said the government will announce its position
on the new administrative plan soon after carefully screening public opinions.
"The most important issue the government is considering is what will most
practically benefit the people of Chungcheong," the official told reporters,
while speaking on condition of anonymity.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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