Candidates revive debate over moving presidential office, parliament to Sejong

From left, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks to voters in Daegu, People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo canvasses at Sinjeong Market in Ulsan and Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok delivers a speech at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, May 13. Yonhap

Sejong, a city in central Korea built to house numerous state ministries and agencies and help the government implement its balanced regional development initiative, is once again at the center of a political debate as presidential candidates propose plans to solidify its role as an administrative capital ahead of South Korea's June 3 election.

Decentralization has been a recurring theme in past presidential races, but this time, the proposal to relocate key government functions outside of Seoul is drawing more attention. The issue has taken on new urgency amid uncertainty over the location of the next presidential office following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who relocated it to Yongsan.

Creating an administrative capital outside of Seoul has long been a symbolic agenda for balanced national development and decentralization.

Presidential candidates are pledging support for the initiative as a proposed solution to overpopulation in Seoul and surrounding areas like Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, while also aiming to win backing in the Chungcheong region — a key swing area in Korean elections.

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), listed the "completion of Sejong as the administrative capital" as the sixth of his 10 key campaign pledges.

Lee promised to establish a presidential office and National Assembly building in Sejong during his term, while also improving living conditions for relocated public officials and promoting a second wave of public institution relocations to the provinces.

During the 2022 presidential election, Lee even pledged to amend the Constitution to formally designate Sejong as the administrative capital and ensure it functions.

He reaffirmed his commitment to fully relocating both the presidential office and the National Assembly, while acknowledging the constitutional hurdles and the need for broader public consensus.

Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party's (PPP) candidate, also included administrative capital issues among his 10 campaign pledges.

As part of his fourth pledge to expand the nationwide Great Train Express (GTX) network, he proposed the full relocation of the National Assembly and the creation of a secondary presidential office in Sejong.

During a visit to the administrative city on May 1 as part of the PPP primary race, Kim wrote in the guestbook, "Sejong is the administrative capital." He emphasized that relocating both the presidential office and the National Assembly to the city is a logical step to improve government efficiency.

He argued that the president, as head of the executive branch, should be based alongside the public officials he oversees, adding that policies promoting administrative convenience and balanced regional development should face little opposition.

A view of Sejong Government Complex / Korea Times file

While both Lee and Kim pledged to advance the administrative capital project, Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok stopped short of explicitly supporting the move. Instead, he focused on enhancing regional competitiveness, which he listed as his third key pledge.

However, he has stated that Sejong’s vision is to achieve decentralization from the capital region while improving administrative efficiency through the centralization of key functions.

Although the idea of establishing Sejong as an administrative capital has been floated in past presidential elections, it has yet to materialize.

Despite persistent fears that the Sejong capital debate will follow its familiar pattern of campaign hype followed by post-election stagnation, proponents argue that this time could be different, pointing to tangible factors supporting the move.

"The timing and cost make it a highly feasible option," said Jang Jae-min, representative director of the Korea Institute for Urban Policy. "Given Korea’s emphasis on balanced regional development and decentralization, Sejong offers clear strategic advantages."

He added, however, that the final decision will rest with the next president.