Sejong City Project Haunts PM-Nominee
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The ruling and opposition parties are expected to be on a collision course this week over the confirmation of Prime Minister-designate Chung Un-chan.
The opposition vowed to link Chung's premiership to his support of the Sejong City project ― a plan to relocate most of government ministries to the central region.
The former Seoul National University professor also faces multiple allegations on evasion of taxes and military service, and on plagiarism during the two-day parliamentary confirmation hearing which starts today.
The nominee's remarks against the relocation of key government ministers and offices to Sejong City, South Chungcheong Province, are expected to be a hot button issue, political observers say.
Upon being named the new prime minister earlier this month, Chung said the construction of the administrative city in the country's central region is not efficient and needs some changes.
The relocation plan was approved by the National Assembly in 2006 amid fierce controversy. An original initiative by former President Roh Moo-hyun to move most of the government ministries, except for the presidential office and security or foreign affairs-related ministries, to the Chugncheong region was ruled unconstitutional in 2004.
Then the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) accused the Roh administration and then ruling Uri Party of pushing for the plan to woo support from Chungcheong voters ahead of major elections.
The GNP also argued scattering government ministries would cause inefficiency of managing state affairs.
Last July, the National Assembly's public administration and security committee passed a bill to make Sejong City a special administrative city, and the bill is pending in the Legislature. About 22.5 trillion won, or some 24 percent of the total budget, has already been spent on the project.
The minor opposition Liberty Forward Party, based in the Chungcheong region, opposes any reversal of the plan.
An internal debate in the GNP is under way, party officials said. Most GNP lawmakers believe the Sejong City bill should be passed as scheduled but with some more modifications.
Opposition parties led by the main opposition Democratic Party have also vowed to take issue with Chung's alleged ethical problems.
According to opposition legislators, one of Chung's academic papers and its English version were published in different journals in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Chung did not notify the latter journal that the paper had been previously published.
The veteran economist allegedly copied a paper published in 1998 for a different work in 2001. Opposition parties also alleged Chug dodged taxes, which he denies. While serving as an advisor to online bookstore Yes 24, Chung allegedly received some 98 million won ($79,000), but failed to report the income to the tax office.
Besides dodging taxes, he violated the ethics code for public servants by working for the bookstore, opposition lawmakers argue.
Whether Chung avoided serving his military duty is also in question. As a university student, he was ordered in 1966 to serve a shorter term in the military than his colleagues because he was an only son and had no father.
However, he took a trip to the United States to study without fulfilling his term of duty and stayed there until he turned 31.
At the time, those aged 31 or older couldn't enter the military, a rule later scrapped. The opposition believes that Chung delayed his return deliberately in a bid to avoid conscription.