Justice, gender equality ministries among 1st to relocate to Sejong in 2027

The government said Thursday it will begin relocating central government agencies and public institutions remaining in the Seoul metropolitan area to Sejong in the first half of 2027, starting with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

The agencies that will take over the soon-to-be-dismantled prosecution’s functions, including indictments and criminal investigations, as well as the National Police Agency, will be relocated after new headquarters are built.

Announced during a government-wide briefing led by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, the measures are part of a phased plan to relocate about 350 public institutions currently based in the capital region to other parts of the country to promote balanced regional development.

The plan marks the second round of the government’s relocation drive, following the first round carried out from the 2000s through the 2010s.

The government will announce a detailed relocation plan for the public institutions in the fourth quarter of this year, with the moves to begin in 2027.

Separately, the government plans to cut the overall number of public institutions by 109 — the largest-ever reduction — by merging institutions and consolidating overlapping functions.

“We will push ahead swiftly with relocating public institutions to regions outside the capital area,” Han said during the briefing at Government Complex Seoul.

She said the government would apply the principle of “minimizing” the number of institutions allowed to remain in the capital region when drawing up the relocation plan.

The government will also move away from distributing public institutions evenly among regions and instead concentrate them around existing innovation cities in an effort to strengthen regional growth hubs.

“We will avoid a ‘dividing-up-the-pie’ approach and concentrate resources around innovation cities to maximize the strength of regional growth hubs,” Han explained.

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Yun-duk said the government will comprehensively review the criteria used to allow some institutions to remain in the capital region during the first round of relocations.

“Unless an institution absolutely needs to remain, it will in principle be included in the relocation,” Kim said.

The government also intends to speed up the process by allowing institutions to move into rented private buildings rather than wait for new headquarters to be constructed.

Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung said the government will seek to revise the law governing Sejong to allow the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to move there. The two ministries are currently among the government bodies exempt from relocation under the law.

Yun said the government will not move all agencies at the same time but will proceed in stages based on their working conditions and readiness to prevent administrative disruptions.

The government did not include several major government bodies still based in Seoul — including the ministries of foreign affairs, unification and national defense, as well as the Financial Services Commission — in Thursday's relocation announcement.

Yun said their absence did not mean they are excluded from future relocation. He explained the relocation of the foreign and unification ministries could be considered in line with the planned completion of a presidential office in Sejong and the National Assembly's Sejong complex.

The government plans to build a second presidential office in Sejong by August 2029 and support the completion of the National Assembly's Sejong complex by 2033.

Alongside the relocation drive, the government unveiled a major overhaul of public institutions, seeking to reduce 109, or 20.8 percent, of the 525 organizations it considers to effectively perform public-sector functions.

“We will boldly reform the functions of public institutions in response to the rapidly changing policy environment,” Han said.

She said the government will pursue “strategic structural reform to strengthen global competitiveness,” consolidate similar and overlapping functions and merge smaller institutions.

Second Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Huh Jang said five state-run power generation companies — Korea South-East Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea Western Power, Korea Southern Power and Korea East-West Power — will be merged into a single entity.

The consolidation is aimed at supporting the country's transition toward renewable energy, according to Huh.

To respond to supply chain risks and strengthen energy security, the government will merge Korea National Oil Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. into a new entity tentatively named the Korea Energy Resources Corp.

The government will also merge four port authorities overseeing Busan, Incheon, Ulsan and Yeosu-Gwangyang.