Opposition Urges Assembly Probe Into Sejong Plan
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Opposition parties will submit a bill calling for a National Assembly investigation of the government's revision of the Sejong City project today, a parliamentary source said Monday.
But chances of the passage of the bill are slim as the governing Grand National Party (GNP) controls 169 seats, more than half in the 299-member legislature.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has argued that the ruling party and Cheong Wa Dae have politicized the initial plan by revising it, and have manipulated the media to create favorable public opinion.
The DP also says the government has lured private companies to move into the newly created city in exchange for under-the-table benefits.
Apart from the investigation, the DP and the Liberty Forward Party plan to launch their own independent investigation as well, sources said.
No immediate reaction from the GNP was available.
The opposition demand for an Assembly investigation into the revision is expected to fuel what's already been a heated feud between the parties and within the GNP.
President Lee Myung-bak said Sunday in his special Lunar New Year's radio address that politics should take a back seat in the Sejong discussion.
``We all want Sejong City not for politics, but for the people of Korea,'' he said.
Under the initial plan, nine ministries and four government agencies were to have been relocated from Seoul to the Chungcheong region.
The revision was announced late last year by Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, who promised to create the city as a hub of business and science.
Dresden in Germany was referred to as a role model, drawing media attention to the German city.
Opposition parties, led by the DP, slammed the revised plan, accusing Lee and the ruling party of looking for political gain.
It also caused a division within the GNP, as Park Geun-hye, the former party chairwoman, and her supporters poured criticism on the revision, citing the bill lacked consensus within the party, and would do nothing to solve the problem of centralization.
Last week, Park publicly complained about the bill, a culmination of the tension between Pro-Park and Pro-Lee lawmakers.
Park likened Lee to a burglar, for which Cheong Wa Dae demanded an apology. She refused to do so.
During a meeting with GNP Chairman Chung Mong-joon last week, President Lee agreed to a possible meeting with Park over the controversy. However, no details about the proposal were given.