Will Sejong City Become Korea’s Black Hole?
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
As the government mulls over incentives for Sejong City, critics are becoming increasingly concerned about the future of other regional development projects.
Construction has been underway on 10 innovative cities, six enterprise cities, Gwangju R&D Special District, Daegu/Gyeongbuk High-Tech Medical Complex and several free economic zones, including one in Saemangeum-Gunsan.
The critics fear that Sejong may end up becoming a black hole, attracting businesses that had been considering expanding or building new facilities in other regions.
"The Sejong development plan is destined to be a failure, causing significant damage to regional development," said Rep. Kang Woon-tae of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Kang pointed out that as of October only 19.6 percent of construction had been completed on the 10 innovative cities, which have a budget of 10.7 trillion won.
He said the six enterprise cities, whose primary purpose is to attract businesses, have yet to see any large companies invest in them.
Rep. Byun Jae-ill of the DP is also against the government's attempt to change Sejong to a business friendly town.
He claims that Sejong is destined to attract a large number of companies that want to build their facilities outside Seoul.
Kwon Tae-shin, chief of the Office of the Prime Minister, also expressed his fears that offering excessive incentives may trigger a strong backlash from local governments.
Sources say that Lotte, which planned to build a beer factory in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, as well as C Change Investment, an American private equity firm, which has signed a memorandum of understanding to build a medical city in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, are considering changing their destinations to Sejong.
The government has begun a fundamental remodeling of Sejong City, which was first intended to be an administrative capital under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration. An alternative plan is to be announced by mid-December.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said Saturday it was considering surveying large firms here about relocation to Sejong. "We are reviewing carrying out a basic survey of major enterprises in response to the government's desire for us to move some of our offices and plants to Sejong," a senior FKI official said.
The federation will ask specific questions about what incentives businesses would like.
Prime Minister Chung Un-chan also hinted at the possibility of Seoul National University (SNU) building a new campus or relocating some of its research institutions to Sejong.
Kim Kwan-bok in charge of the support for universities at the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, said, SNU is working on a draft plan for the school's planned campus in the city.
Seoul National University Hospital is also reportedly working on a plan to set up an advanced converged medical treatment and research center.