PM says announcement of Sejong revision delayed

(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks from President Lee Myung-bak in last three paras)
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said Monday the government
has pushed back the announcement of its revision to a controversial
administrative town project from late December to early January, due to the need
to listen more carefully to public opinion.

Appearing at a parliamentary budget committee meeting, Chung said the government
still feels it must comply with the people's wishes in offering alternatives to
plans that would move a number of administrative offices to Sejong City, a new
town under construction in the central part of the country.
"The government had planned to come up with an alternative plan for Sejong City
by late December. At the request of the National Assembly, however, it will be
delayed. Late December or early January doesn't matter much," said the prime
minister.
"The government will be reluctant to offer excessive incentives to Sejong City.
All decisions will be made from the perspective of impartiality and feasibility."
In this regard, a government source said the administration has tentatively
decided to announce the alternative plan for Sejong City on Jan. 10 after
reflecting on opinions from opposition parties and residents of the concerned
regions.
A 16-member joint committee was launched last month to draw an alternative plan
for Sejong through public hearings and other consensus-building procedures.
Initiated by former President Roh Moo-hyun as an election campaign pledge in
2002, the Sejong City project calls for the construction of an administrative
town in South Chungcheong Province, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, to house
nine ministries and four government agencies.
The National Assembly passed a special bill on the construction of Sejong City in
2005, with the then opposition Grand National Party voting for the bill in a
"political gesture" so as not to lose the support of the neutral Chungcheong
provinces.
The name Sejong comes from the Joseon Dynasty king recognized as the inventor of
the Korean alphabet.
President Lee Myung-bak again stressed the need to modify Sejong City plans
Monday, saying the city, if built as planned, will not only be incapable of
self-sufficiency, but a disaster for the entire administration and the nation.
"The decision is not derived from a political point of view. It derives only from
the perspective of national and regional development," Lee said in a luncheon
meeting with a group of chief editors from local media outlets.
"I would have nothing to lose if I had just gone with the flow, but I am now
facing strong opposition by doing this. One might argue I am doing this for my
political gain if there is any for me at the end, but currently I am doing it
despite significant losses," he added.
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