By Kim Jong-chan

The National Assembly passed a special bill to relocate government offices from Seoul to South Chungcheong Province in a move toward decentralization.

Four and a half years after the passage of the bill during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration, the government made public plans to scrap the Sejong administrative town project. Under the original plan, nine ministries and four agencies would have been relocated, while the presidential office, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court and other offices would remain in the capital.

The administration has since sought to find an alternative plan that would satisfy Chungcheong residents. A study is underway regarding the creation a multi-functional, self-sufficient industrial city along the lines of Ulsan, Changwon or Gumi.

The move sparked objections from not only opposition parties but also Park Geun-hye, who leads the second largest faction within the governing Grand National Party (GNP).

The amendment plan cannot pass into legislature without Park's support, who has scores of loyal followers within the GNP. Park stands firm on the Sejong issue, saying that any changes should add more benefits without subtracting from the initial ones.

Park is right to point out that the parliamentary endorsement of the project to build the administrative town, now under construction in the Chungcheong region, was a "promise" to the people. If the ruling party scraps the plan, public distrust toward politicians will undeniably grow. No one can scrap the plan without solid reasons.

I can understand why Park opposes the cancellation of the project. She was chairwoman of the GNP when it gave the go-ahead for the relocation bill. In a meeting before the Assembly vote in 2005, 46 GNP legislators endorsed an inter-party agreement on the construction of the city, while 37 others objected. But most of them boycotted the parliamentary vote.

In the Assembly vote, Park neither supported nor objected to the bill. She and three others abstained. Now, Park, a viable candidate for the 2012 presidential election, is under fire from GNP mainstreamers for resorting to populism.

Germany can teach us a lesson. Following German unification, which came about 11 months after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the European country relocated 10 of 16 federal government offices from Bonn to Berlin. The agencies that were relocated to Berlin opened liaison offices in Bonn, while the remaining six agencies in Bonn established offices in Berlin.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who led a coalition government of the liberal Social Democratic Party and the Greens from 1998 to 2004, said during his visit to Seoul earlier this month that it was the wrong decision for Germany to divide federal government offices into two groups. He was apparently referring to inefficiency caused by the splitting of government offices.

Unification of the Korean Peninsula is another factor that deserves consideration. Which city would be the capital of a unified Korea?

South Korea's Seoul is better known in the international community as it co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup and hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics and many other international events. Seoul also has a historical legacy as it was the capital of the Joseon Kingdom for about 600 years until 1910. It has been called Seoul since the nation's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

Pyongyang of North Korea has a negative image in the international arena because of the long-standing international standoff over the communist state's nuclear weapons programs. But when it comes to a unified Korea, the situation is different.

A northward policy would be needed to cope with China's project to include Korea's ancient Goguryeo Kingdom in its history. People need to be prepared for the unity of the Koreas and their capitals.

jckim@koreatimes.co.kr