Prime Minister Chung Un-chan |
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
If Prime Minister Chung Un-chan keeps on working at his current pace, he may want to go back to teaching in a few months.
In promoting the government's plan to revise the Sejong City project, the former Seoul National University president has met with opinion leaders from various walks of life almost every day since his inauguration in late September.
He is very busy now, but his schedule may become even tighter.
On Thursday, he invited a group of editorial writers from Seoul-based newspapers and television networks to his residence near Cheong Wa Dae for talks on the Sejong controversy.
He explained why Sejong should be a self-sufficient industrial city, not an administrative town, suggesting various ideas to woo public support for the revision.
At the same location, he hosted a dinner for a group of former prime ministers. Sejong City was again the main topic.
In the coming days, Chung plans to increase his meetings with businesspeople to attract corporate investment for the disputed town.
He will attend a luncheon meeting hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), today, at a hotel in Seoul and will visit several cities nationwide from early next week to drum up support for the revision.
Many analysts say that the biggest concern among people in provincial areas is that the government may downscale or scrap industrial complexes already planned in their regions because they are now fixated on Sejong.
To attract firms, the government plans to offer tax cuts and lease land at low prices, which critics say discriminates against other envisioned industrial towns. Provincial officials argue firms will be reluctant to come to their regions if setting up plants in Sejong is cheaper.
"The KCCI will deliver the concern to the prime minister and demand measures to address the problem," an industry source said.
jj@koreatimes.co.kr
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