ID :
99318
Mon, 01/11/2010 - 15:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/99318
The shortlink copeid
Gov't scraps administrative plan for Sejong City, opts for business hub
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- The government on Monday officially scrapped its plan to move some ministries to a new city and announced it will instead turn the city into a business and science hub, with several leading South Korean conglomerates preparing to set up operations there.
Big conglomerates including Samsung, Hanwha, Woongjin and Lotte have agreed to
sign later this week memorandums of understanding with the government to launch
operations in Sejong City, which the administration aims to fully develop by
2020, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said Monday.
In 2005, then President Roh Moo-hyun decided to relocate nine ministries and four
subsidiary agencies to the planned city, located some 150 kilometers south of
Seoul, beginning in 2012 as part of a presidential campaign pledge to promote
balanced regional development.
But his successor, President Lee Myung-bak, brought the issue up for public
debate in September of last year when he said that moving part of the government
into the new city would cause administrative inefficiency.
Lee's supporters argued that the original plan for the city, named after the
inventor of the Korean alphabet, King Sejong, was tantamount to creating two
capital cities in one country.
Monday's announcement focused on building "an economic hub centered on education
and science" in Sejong City with public and private investment totaling 16.5
trillion won (US$14.6 billion). The government aims to develop it into a
self-sufficient city with a population of 500,000 with 246,000 new jobs by 2020,
according to the announcement.
"The Sejong City plan, for Koreans who live today, is a task of correcting past
errors and paving the ground for a new future," the prime minister said in a
statement. "If the promise of the past was politically driven it would be
courageous for a leader to correct it, albeit belatedly," he stressed.
The government is expected to seek to amend current laws on the development of
the city soon. But in the process of amending the laws, ruling and opposition
parties will likely become embroiled in heated debate and the amendment itself
may face considerable difficulty.
It is unclear whether parliament will approve the revisions as opposition parties
and even a faction within the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), led by Rep. Park
Geun-hye, oppose the revisions.
Park, the daughter of former president Park Chung-hee and currently head of the
second-biggest faction in the ruling party, is widely seen as one of the leading
candidates for the 2012 presidential election.
The National Assembly passed a special law on the construction of Sejong City in
2005, with the GNP voting for the bill in a "political gesture" so as not to lose
the support of swing voters in the Chungcheong provinces.
Under the revised plan, Samsung Group, which has Asia's biggest electronics
manufacturer, Samsung Electronics Co., under its wing, is expected to invest 2.05
trillion won to develop the city, the government said.
Samsung will launch five business operations there, including plants for
producing solar cells, light-emitting diode (LED) backlight units and bio-health
care devices, according to an official familiar with the government plan.
Hanwha will launch an energy-related business in the city with an investment of
1.33 trillion won, while Woongjin Group is set to invest some 900 billion won to
build production lines for its chemical and energy units as well as research and
training centers there. Lotte will build a food research center in the new city
with 100 billion won in investment, and Austria's SSF will invest 138 billion
won, the official said.
The new city will also accommodate cutting-edge technology research institutes,
schools, hospitals, parks and cultural facilities such as libraries, museums and
concert halls, the government said.
Leading universities are also planning to move some of their departments to the
new city.
Korea University in Seoul and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology (KAIST) will also construct new campuses in the city, relocating their
post-graduate schools of natural science and engineering, the government said.
Seoul National University remains undecided over whether to move any of its
departments to the new city, it added.
Both domestic and foreign firms launching new businesses in the city will be
eligible to receive incentives, including cheaper land, tax cuts and government
subsidies, according to the government plan. The incentives will not be offered
to companies that relocate from cities that are not in the capital area.
The government left some 1.9 million square meters of land in the city open for
foreign investors. The "global investment zone," to be located in the
northeastern part of the city, will house the headquarters of multinational
corporations, foreign research centers, high-tech production bases, universities
and hospitals, the government said. It also plans to allow regional branches of
international and non-governmental organizations in the investment zone.
Five new highways will be built in addition to the original four that were
planned to connect the city with other adjacent areas, according to the
government plan.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- The government on Monday officially scrapped its plan to move some ministries to a new city and announced it will instead turn the city into a business and science hub, with several leading South Korean conglomerates preparing to set up operations there.
Big conglomerates including Samsung, Hanwha, Woongjin and Lotte have agreed to
sign later this week memorandums of understanding with the government to launch
operations in Sejong City, which the administration aims to fully develop by
2020, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said Monday.
In 2005, then President Roh Moo-hyun decided to relocate nine ministries and four
subsidiary agencies to the planned city, located some 150 kilometers south of
Seoul, beginning in 2012 as part of a presidential campaign pledge to promote
balanced regional development.
But his successor, President Lee Myung-bak, brought the issue up for public
debate in September of last year when he said that moving part of the government
into the new city would cause administrative inefficiency.
Lee's supporters argued that the original plan for the city, named after the
inventor of the Korean alphabet, King Sejong, was tantamount to creating two
capital cities in one country.
Monday's announcement focused on building "an economic hub centered on education
and science" in Sejong City with public and private investment totaling 16.5
trillion won (US$14.6 billion). The government aims to develop it into a
self-sufficient city with a population of 500,000 with 246,000 new jobs by 2020,
according to the announcement.
"The Sejong City plan, for Koreans who live today, is a task of correcting past
errors and paving the ground for a new future," the prime minister said in a
statement. "If the promise of the past was politically driven it would be
courageous for a leader to correct it, albeit belatedly," he stressed.
The government is expected to seek to amend current laws on the development of
the city soon. But in the process of amending the laws, ruling and opposition
parties will likely become embroiled in heated debate and the amendment itself
may face considerable difficulty.
It is unclear whether parliament will approve the revisions as opposition parties
and even a faction within the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), led by Rep. Park
Geun-hye, oppose the revisions.
Park, the daughter of former president Park Chung-hee and currently head of the
second-biggest faction in the ruling party, is widely seen as one of the leading
candidates for the 2012 presidential election.
The National Assembly passed a special law on the construction of Sejong City in
2005, with the GNP voting for the bill in a "political gesture" so as not to lose
the support of swing voters in the Chungcheong provinces.
Under the revised plan, Samsung Group, which has Asia's biggest electronics
manufacturer, Samsung Electronics Co., under its wing, is expected to invest 2.05
trillion won to develop the city, the government said.
Samsung will launch five business operations there, including plants for
producing solar cells, light-emitting diode (LED) backlight units and bio-health
care devices, according to an official familiar with the government plan.
Hanwha will launch an energy-related business in the city with an investment of
1.33 trillion won, while Woongjin Group is set to invest some 900 billion won to
build production lines for its chemical and energy units as well as research and
training centers there. Lotte will build a food research center in the new city
with 100 billion won in investment, and Austria's SSF will invest 138 billion
won, the official said.
The new city will also accommodate cutting-edge technology research institutes,
schools, hospitals, parks and cultural facilities such as libraries, museums and
concert halls, the government said.
Leading universities are also planning to move some of their departments to the
new city.
Korea University in Seoul and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology (KAIST) will also construct new campuses in the city, relocating their
post-graduate schools of natural science and engineering, the government said.
Seoul National University remains undecided over whether to move any of its
departments to the new city, it added.
Both domestic and foreign firms launching new businesses in the city will be
eligible to receive incentives, including cheaper land, tax cuts and government
subsidies, according to the government plan. The incentives will not be offered
to companies that relocate from cities that are not in the capital area.
The government left some 1.9 million square meters of land in the city open for
foreign investors. The "global investment zone," to be located in the
northeastern part of the city, will house the headquarters of multinational
corporations, foreign research centers, high-tech production bases, universities
and hospitals, the government said. It also plans to allow regional branches of
international and non-governmental organizations in the investment zone.
Five new highways will be built in addition to the original four that were
planned to connect the city with other adjacent areas, according to the
government plan.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
