Final Selection Due in August


By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter

A total of four regions have been selected as candidate sites for the new administrative capital _ Chonan, Kongju-Nonsan and Kongju-Yongi in South Chungchong Province, and Chinchon-Umsong in North Chungchong Province.


The final site will be confirmed as early as in August following a series of evaluation processes behind closed doors by 80 review panelists for a week from next Monday. Public hearings will be held in July with the panel’s evaluation.
The Presidential Committee on Administrative Capital Relocation, co-chaired by Deputy Premier Lee Hun-jai and Seoul National University professor Kim An-je, made public the list of candidate sites on Tuesday at the Government Complex building in central Seoul.

``The candidate sites and nearby regions will be designated as special zones from Thursday, where real estate transactions and development are strictly controlled until a final site is decided,’’ said Lee Choon-hee, deputy chief at the Administrative Capital Relocation Task Force.

The new administrative capital will be sized at 23 million pyong (about 75.9 million square meters) to accommodate a population of 500,000. The candidate sites have been selected based on three major criteria _ balanced national development, development capability and necessity for preservation. Osong, which has been known as a strong candidate for the new capital relocation, was eliminated.

Despite opposition from some groups, the government will promote the project as planned, Lee said. ``Such local governments as Seoul, Inchon, Kyonggi Province and Kangwon Province showed their clear opposition against the project as they refused to recommend panelists for the candidate sites evaluation process,’’ Lee added.

Although the National Assembly and the judiciary bodies will decide by themselves whether they will move to the new capital, the government strongly hoped that the Assembly follows the government plan, Lee said.

The government’s initial estimation for relocation costs, which was some 45.6 trillion won, will be recalculated after a final site is decided, as real estate prices will vary according to the site, Lee said, adding ``But the costs will not burden the economy.’’

When the construction is completed in 2012, major governmental offices and state organizations will be moved to the new capital.

Last week, the committee has already made a tentative list of 85 central government agencies and state organizations for relocation to the new administrative capital, which includes Chong Wa Dae and all ministries.

Key central administrative bodies will first be moved to the planned new capital from 2012, and then constitutional institutions will be relocated in order to avoid a possible social, political and economic vacuum, according to the committee. All relocation will be completed by 2014.

The list of government offices subject to relocation, however, will be finalized in July with approval from President Roh Moo-hyun.

The committee estimated some 3.4 trillion won would be necessary to relocate the public organizations. The relocation will be financed by selling buildings and land where the state offices are located.

Along with the relocation of the state organizations to the new capital, some 200 public organizations will be moved to new cities, which will be built in regions near the new capital as part of the steps to promote a balanced development of the country.

kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr