By Lee Hyo-sik
Ewha Womans University has scrapped a plan to construct a second campus consisting of a multi research and educational complex in Paju, a city north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, saying that the Ministry of National Defense refused to accept its offer to buy the proposed site.
In a statement released Friday, the school said after due consideration, it decided the plan was not feasible. “We asked the defense ministry to allow us to build a campus on the site of Camp Edwards after the U.S. military relocates to Pyeongtaek but the proposal was rejected.”
The university said when the idea was first proposed by Paju City in 2006, the purchase value of the U.S. military base was estimated at 29.2 billion won ($27.3 million).
“Soon after the plan was publically announced, the price more than doubled to 65.2 billion won. We told the ministry that we are willing to buy the land at that price. But it demanded 175 billion won,” the statement said.
Considering the huge difference in land price, it is unlikely we will reach an agreement, the school said. “Given certain aspects of the situation, we think it is the best for us to abort the Paju campus plan.”
Gyeonggi Province and Paju suggested donating research and development funds to the school to balance the high land price. “But it is not certain whether the offer will be approved by their respective councils. It is not right to pay for land with R&D money,” the school said.
In protest of the school’s decision, Paju City mayor Lee In-jae and 1,500 residents held a rally in front of the school’s campus in western Seoul, demanding it proceed with the construction as planned.