By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The Cabinet approved the revision of the Sejong City project Tuesday despite diehard opposition from a large number of lawmakers, including the governing party's second-biggest faction and the main opposition party.
The government will submit the revision bill late this month for National Assembly approval after getting the nod from President Lee Myung-bak, said the Office of the Prime Minister.
The revision plan is to transform Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province, initially designed as an administrative complex, into a business hub housing firms, universities and science institutes.
The move is expected to draw a strong backlash from opposition parties and add fuel to the factional feud within the Grand National Party (GNP), with the June 2 local elections approaching.
Opposition parties and a GNP faction led by its former Chairwoman Rep. Park Geun-hye, a favorite for the next presidential election, have criticized the revision and demanded that President Lee stick to the original plan.
The Cabinet endorsement came about two months after Prime Minister Chung Un-chan announced the plan to change the administrative town project, which had been underway since the legislature passed it in 2005 while Lee's liberal predecessor Roh Moo-hyun was in office.
Roh committed suicide last May while undergoing a corruption investigation involving his relatives and former aides.
Analysts say the ruling party will fail to get parliamentary approval for the revision without getting support from Park, leader of the second-largest faction in the GNP after President Lee.
The GNP holds 169 seats in the 299-member legislature, so it can only secure a majority of votes to pass the bill when Park and her some 50 affiliated lawmakers cooperate.
Under the revised plan, the government can spend more than 8.5 trillion won ($7.6 billion) to build industrial, educational and science infrastructure inside Sejong City. The administration officially scrapped the initial plan to move nine ministries and four government agencies into the city.
Private firms and universities will be allowed to use the land for their own purposes without the government's intervention.
Technology firms based in Sejong will enjoy a full exemption of income and corporate taxes for three years, a 50-percent cut in taxes for the following two years. Additionally, they won't have to pay property taxes for 15 years.
Financial incentives were also planned for those who relocate offices to the envisioned town.
According to the government, a total of 18 trillion won will be invested in Sejong by 2020 to create more than 250,000 jobs.
Samsung Group will invest 2.05 trillion won to build facilities for its solar energy, fuel cell battery, LED television and bio-health care businesses.
Other major corporate investors also include Hanwha (1.33 trillion won), Lotte (100 billion won) and Woongjin (900 billion won).