By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter

The government has decided to relocate 73 central government agencies and other state organizations to the new administrative capital, expected to be located in South Chungchong Province.

The National Assembly and 10 other constitutional institutions, which have been at the center of disagreements, have been excluded from the initial plan, along with the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The Presidential Committee on Administrative Capital Relocation on Wednesday announced the scale of the relocation of agencies to the planned new administrative capital along with a basic plan.

Of the total 269 central state agencies, 73 bodies will be moved to the new administrative capital, the commission said.

On June 8, the committee tentatively picked 85 state bodies for the relocation, including 11 organizations under the control of the president, 48 central administrative institutions, 13 units under the control of the prime minister, 11 constitutional institutions and two independent organizations.

However, it reduced the scale of the relocation to 73 bodies by excluding the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and 11 constitutional institutions in response to disagreements and dissatisfaction concerning the relocation of the National Assembly and constitutional institutions in political circles.

``As the relocation of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office needs to be considered in conjunction with that of the Supreme Court, its move has been ruled out,’’ said Lee Choon-hee, deputy chief at the Administrative Capital Relocation Task Force.

The excluded 12 bodies will make their own destiny regarding the relocation, according to the commission.

Most of bodies under the direct control of the president, or 15 out of 19, will be moved to the new capital, including Chong Wa Dae and the Board of Audit and Inspection. The National Intelligence Service and the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths will not be included in the move.

As the government envisions that the new capital will function like Washington, D.C., while leaving Seoul as the center of business and finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission will remain in Seoul.

As the scale of the relocation plan has been reduced, the committee estimates some 3.2 trillion won will be needed for the project, down 200 billion won from last month’s estimate of 3.4 trillion won. The government plans to finance the project by selling buildings and land where the state offices are currently located.

The 3.2-trillion budget is equivalent to 28.3 percent of the governmental budget (11.3 trillion won) for all construction in the new administrative capital. The government has estimated that some 45.6 trillion won would be required for construction to accommodate a population of 500,000 and most major public bodies on about 75.9 million square meters in the designated region.

The committee plans to start the relocation of the agencies in 2012 and complete the move by 2014.

After the final selection is made for the site of the new administrative capital, expected next month, detailed plans for the relocation of the agencies will be mapped out.

It is highly possible that the Yongi-Kongju region in South Chungchong Province will be chosen as the site, since it topped the evaluation results for the new administrative capital relocation project, with the Nonsan-Kongju area coming a distant second.

kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr