Lee warns Sejong debate could detract gov't from more urgent matters

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak on Monday asked the nation not
to spend excessive amounts of energy debating revisions to the Sejong City plan,
warning that an escalation of the conflict could detract the government from more
pressing national issues.

Lee emphasized that his decision to turn Sejong, some 150 kilometers south of
Seoul, into a "science and business hub" instead of an administrative town, as
originally envisioned by his predecessor, was made based on a policy to enhance
national competitiveness rather than partisan politics.
"The Sejong City issue is a pure policy issue aimed at developing the area in
such a way as to match its characteristics and eventually enhance national
competitiveness," Lee was quoted as saying in a weekly meeting with top
secretaries at the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae.
The president stressed that it should not be viewed from a purely political
perspective, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.
Lee and his aides claim the original plan put forward by the administration of
former President Roh Moo-hyun is not workable, saying that building an
administrative town so far away from the capital would cause undue inefficiency
and waste taxpayer money. Attracting companies, colleges, and research centers to
the rural area is better for residents there and for the nation's interest, they
argue.
Lee's comments came as the country's ruling and opposition parties brace for a
fierce battle over Lee's push to revise the project that originally called for
relocating about a dozen ministries and government agencies to Sejong City in
South Chungcheong Province. The revisions require parliament's consent.
In addition to protests from residents in the Chungcheong region and from the
main opposition Democratic Party, Lee also faces strong backlash from within his
own party.
Park Geun-hye, Lee's party rival and a favorite for the next presidential
election in 2012, is adamant that some government agencies be moved to Sejong
City, which is named after the 15th-century monarch who created the Korean
alphabet.
Park is an ex-leader of the Grand National Party (GNP) and daughter of the late
former President Park Chung-hee. She commands one of the two main factions in the
ruling party that holds a majority in the 299-seat parliament.
The president is poised to step up efforts to persuade opponents of the planned
revisions, his spokeswoman said after the government made public details of the
alternative plan.
Lee plans to express his position on the issue as early as this week, but the
timing and format have not been decided yet, the spokeswoman added, avoiding a
direct answer on the possibility of the president meeting with Park to discuss
the matter.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)

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