Government vows to alter 'administrative city' plan despite opposition

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS background details, president's comments
throughout)
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Chung Un-chan on Wednesday said the
government will draw up an alternative plan to move a dozen government ministries
and agencies out of Seoul, officially modifying a 2005 plan despite objections.
The announcement came in the midst of a snowballing bipartisan dispute over a
bill passed by the previous government to relocate nine ministries and four
government agencies to the new administrative city of Sejong, now under
construction at a site in South Chungcheong Province, about 160km south of Seoul.
"The current plan will trigger administrative inefficiency and difficulties for
the people ... and is in need of alteration," Chung said at the first official
government news conference to address the issue. "We will come up with the final
alternative plan by January based on a broad consensus."
The plan for the new administrative city was the result of former President Roh
Moo-hyun's election campaign promise in 2002, a move critics called a "political
gesture" to garner support from the neutral Chungcheong region.
Indications that the incumbent Lee Myung-bak government planned to downsize the
relocation project have angered opposition parties as well as Chungcheong
residents. Prime Minister Chung has been leading the drive to revise the plan
since he took office in September.
President Lee, meeting with the prime minister earlier Wednesday, emphasized that
the alternative plan "should be more effective and beneficial" to the country,
his top press secretary said.
"The president requested ministries to make haste in revising the plan by
considering what is best for regional development, national competitiveness and
the country's future after unification (with North Korea)," Lee Dong-kwan said.
By next week, the government plans to set up an independent committee composed of
25 members, including ministers and experts, to work on modifying the plan. The
committee will be co-chaired by the prime minister and a civilian representative,
officials said.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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