By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

Lawmakers affiliated with former Grand National Party (GNP) Chairwoman Rep. Park Geun-hye and opposition parties appear to be forming a united front to oppose the government's move to build an international business belt on the site of Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province.

President Lee Myung-bak is facing growing calls to drop the plan to replace the administrative town with a so-called science business complex that may house global technology firms, universities, institutes and foreign hospitals.

The creation of the business complex will be one of the core projects of the Lee administration aimed at maximizing the country's future growth potential, said Prime Minister Chung Un-chan.

However, aides of Rep. Park and opposition parties claim that it is absurd for the government to invalidate the administrative town project, approved by the National Assembly in 2005, for unconvincing reasons. Park was the chairwoman of the then-opposition GNP when it voted for the Sejong project, initiated by the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration.

The Lee administration plans to come up with a finalized alternative development plan for Sejong City by the end of January and submit a bill to the Assembly for endorsement in the following months.

Analysts say it will be virtually impossible for the government to pass the bill without getting support from Park, who leads the second-largest faction in the GNP after President Lee.

In the coming weeks, Prime Minister Chung plans to meet with Rep. Park and other GNP heavyweights to seek their backing for the government's amendment plan.

The GNP also plans to launch a task force, led by Rep. Chung Eui-hwa, one of President Lee's aides, as early as this week to address the intra-party division.

``The task force will include figures from different political and regional backgrounds,'' Rep. Chung told reporters Sunday. "We will make efforts to produce the best alternative based on close coordination with the government and politicians based in the Chungcheong provinces.''

The moves reflect falling popularity for President Lee since the government made public the plan to drop the administrative town project last week.

According to the latest opinion poll, conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, 40 percent of the respondents said Lee's public image worsened after the government unveiled the amendment plan, while only 10 percent said his image improved.

About 35 percent backed the amendment plan, while 58 percent said the government should stick to the initial plan to build an administrative town.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr