By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
Lawmakers of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) called for the creation of a presidential committee to review the Sejong City project.
They expressed concern about tarnishing the party's image as factional feuds grow over the Sejong City issue.
"It is time to close Pandora's Box," said Rep. Yoo Ki-june during the second-day debate on the Sejong City project, Tuesday. "We must put an end to this extremely inefficient debate and return to normalcy."
Yoo said protracted disputes over whether to shift the party's official stance on relocating nine ministries and four government agencies to Sejong City will eventually deal a heavy blow to the party in upcoming elections.
Rep. Chung Eui-hwa, who headed the GNP`s ad-hoc committee on Sejong City, pointed out that internal feuding will damage the political careers of both the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye factions.
"The division within the GNP will make the party perish," Chung said. "Even if the Lee faction forcibly changes the party's official platform, the project will not be able to succeed."
Chung proposed setting up a presidential committee to review the Sejong City project in the view that unification of the two Koreas may take place in the near future.
"There is a possibility that a major change will take place in North Korea in five years," Chung said. "We should answer the question on whether Seoul is the right place as the country's future capital."
The four-term lawmaker also said the GNP should consider relocating some of the nine proposed ministries, such as the education, knowledge, forestry and environment ministries, or the high courts to Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province.
Chung also called for President Lee Myung-bak to meet Park Geun-hye to help resolve the factional feud in the party.
Previously, Park rejected a proposal from President Lee to hold talks over the revised Sejong City plan, according to GNP Chairman Chung Mong-joon.
The GNP needs the approval of more than two-thirds of its legislators, or at least 113 lawmakers, to change the official platform, which was to make Sejong an administrative city.
Of 169 lawmakers, some 100 GNP lawmakers belong to the Lee faction, while about 50 are considered being loyal to former GNP Chairwoman Park. The remaining 20 or so are believed to be neutral.
The GNP plans to hold the debate until the end of this week in an attempt to reach a consensus on the controversial plan before putting it to a vote.
Park's faction supports the original plan for Sejong City, which calls for relocating government offices from Seoul to the Chungcheong region.
The pro-Lee lawmakers support the government's revision plan to build a business-friendly town fostering research and education