Governing party mainstreamers seeking to revise Sejong revision

By Lee Tae-hoon

Staff reporter

Mainstreamers within the governing Grand National Party (GNP) began Wednesday to collect signatures to formally request that bills on the revision of the Sejong City development project, rejected by a National Assembly committee the previous day, are brought to a full parliamentary session for a vote.

The group, led by Rep. Chung Doo-un, said they plan to collect signatures from 100 GNP lawmakers by the weekend.

The bills to overhaul the project to build an administrative town in South Chungcheong Province are likely to be voted down by the Assembly as more than 80 lawmakers of the opposition Democratic Party (DP) and about 50 legislators belonging to the GNP’s second largest faction led by former party Chairwoman Park Geun-hye remain opposed to them.

For the passage of the amended bills, the mainstreamers loyal to President Lee Myung-bak must secure support from at least 146 of 291 National Assemblymen.

Chung said, “Though the standing committee voted down the bills, they should be put to a vote at a plenary session after full discussion.”

He warned that under the original Sejong plan, it will be inevitable for the next generation to shoulder the heavy burden of splitting the capital.

The original plan to relocate nine ministries and four government agencies from Seoul to Sejong City was approved by the legislature in 2005 during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration.

However, the Lee administration has long sought to annul the move, saying it will cause administrative inefficiency and result in wasting taxpayers' money.

The government submitted a set of bills in late March to revise the original plan, making the new city into a business and science town, instead of an administrative city.

They lost momentum after the GNP suffered a humiliating defeat in the June 2 local elections in which it won just six of 16 gubernatorial and mayoral posts.

Under the National Assembly Law, bills can be submitted for a full vote, if 30 lawmakers or more demand it if they fail to pass a standing committee.

In a government-GNP policy coordination meeting, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said the Assembly should revive the rejected bills to promote balanced regional development and prevent the nation’s capital from being split.

“If the original bills are implemented, the capital will be practically divided in two because Cheong Wa Dae will remain in Seoul, while the Office of the Prime Minister and ministries will be relocated to Sejong,” Chung said.

He said the passage of the bills is such an important national issue it is imperative that all of the lawmakers take part in determining the fate of the revision plan.

During the meeting, GNP floor leader Kim also noted that he cannot fully accept Tuesday’s decision by the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee. Of its 31 lawmakers, 18 voted against the revised Special Act on the Construction of Sejong City, the backbone of the amended plan.

Twenty-nine legislators objected to the remaining three bills.

“No matter how much I try to respect the decision, deep in my heart, I still cannot agree with it.”