Sejong City Project Encounters Rough Waters
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Ahead of the extraordinary session of the National Assembly in April, regional officials from Chungcheong Province have kicked off a publicity campaign pressing for the approval of a pending bill on the legal status of the Multifunctional Administrative City (MAC), or Sejong City, currently under construction near Daejeon.
"The whole province is outraged by the glaring lack of commitment from the National Assembly and the central government to see the project through," said Daejeon City Mayor Park Seoung-hyo in a joint statement with governors of Chungcheong Province and leaders of the Chungcheong Provincial and City Councils.
Chungcheong officials had initially hoped for approval of the bill last February, which didn't occur because of never-ending debate in the Assembly. "We express profound regret over the delayed legislation and reiterate our utmost commitment to securing the future of the city.''
Citizens and officials in the region are more determined than ever to see the ``Special Bill on Sejong City" approved next month. The legislation is imperative, they say, to secure the successful completion of the future administrative capital of Korea. But politicians are widely divided over the issue, rendering the prospects of the bill and the city itself uncertain.
In particular, lawmakers are still arguing over how to define the legal status of Korea's potential new hub of administration, business and education under the bill.
The opposition Democratic Party and Liberal Forward Party want a 'Special Autonomous City," administering Sejong City under direct supervision from the central government. Meanwhile, the ruling Grand National Party is pushing for the designation of a special city that is still part of South Chungcheong Province.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOPAS) said that a special autonomous city implies that Sejong City will command the status equivalent to that of a province, which is what the people of Chungcheong Province want for their new city.
Those in the Chungcheong region hope to show the nation that the completion of a separate administrative capital benefits not just their region, but the entire nation. But some regions outside Chungcheong are not as convinced.
Gyeonggi Province governor Kim Moon-soo has a history of casting strong doubt over the outcome of a new administrative capital.
During a special lecture held Monday at the Press Center in Seoul, Kim remarked that ``Sejong City will cause serious inefficiency in public administration," reiterating his well-publicized position against the development of the city. "Accommodating more government complex buildings alone is not likely to serve as an engine of growth."
Meanwhile, Governor Lee Wan-gu of South Chungcheong Province held a press conference the next day specifically to denounce Kim's remarks.
The controversy over Sejong City typifies the predicament that national projects of tremendous scale face in Korea with the onset of a new administration. Once again, the nation is witnessing a lack of consistency and bipartisanship in implementing a policy that has long-term implications and prospects.
The creation of a special administrative district outside the capital had been put into action under the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2005. The project reflected former president Roh's visions as an ardent proponent of achieving balance in national development.
Set against the backdrop of Yeongi and Gongju in South Chungcheong Province, the project involves relocating some 40 government ministries. The MAC agency, an affiliate of MOPAS, started to work on the new buildings to accommodate government officials late last year.
In laying the groundwork for the prospective administrative capital, with an expected population of 500,000, Korea has so far invested over 4 trillion won, with an additional 18-trillion-won budget planned.
Alarmed by passionate reactions from the region, top officials at Cheong Wa Dae recently acknowledged that they have an "established position of making Sejong City beneficial to the Chungcheong region and the nation." However, Chungcheong citizens are not sufficiently convinced that the current administration is serious about the establishment of Sejong City as dictated in the original plan.
The government continues to delay the announcement of a specific list of ministries to be relocated to Sejong City and has slashed the budget for MAC.
Approval of the bill, Chungcheong authorities claim, must be granted this year, because resident relocation will begin as early as 2010. Government ministries will start to move in 2012, aiming for completion in 2014. It is in this vein that Chungcheong Province will keenly eye the developments at the extraordinary session of the National Assembly next month.