Joo Ho-young: "Relocation of Administrative Capital Must Resolve Unconstitutionality First... National Assembly Branch Office Is Possible"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, is delivering a speech as the representative of the negotiating group at the National Assembly plenary session on the 21st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] On the 23rd, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, stated regarding the ruling party's proposal to relocate the National Assembly and the Blue House to Sejong City to complete the administrative capital, "The party's position is that the administrative capital relocation will not proceed unless the constitutional issues are resolved."

Through MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Floor Leader Joo said, "The party's position has been set since the unconstitutional ruling on the administrative capital relocation," adding, "There is no set position as the issue has recently come up due to (Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea)'s proposal."

He emphasized, "The administrative capital relocation involves moving the Blue House and the National Assembly," and "Therefore, the constitutional issues regarding the relocation of the Blue House and the National Assembly must be resolved first." However, he added, "Currently, Sejong City itself lacks some aspects to become a self-sufficient city. Apart from the administrative capital relocation, I agree on developing Sejong City."

Floor Leader Joo expressed his stance, saying, "The administrative capital relocation, which includes moving the Blue House and the National Assembly, is a significant issue because many foreign embassies located in Seoul would also have to relocate. Therefore, we need to be more cautious and comprehensively review the impacts."

He argued that even passing the Administrative Capital Act, which the ruling party is considering to resolve constitutional issues, cannot solve the problem of unconstitutionality. Floor Leader Joo said, "The Constitutional Court's decision states that Seoul has been the capital of the Republic of Korea for 600 years as a customary constitution, and the constitution cannot be changed by subordinate laws," adding, "It is a very dangerous idea to think that if someone files a constitutional complaint after creating the Administrative Capital Act, the Constitutional Court will not rule it unconstitutional because they have more allies."

To resolve the constitutional issues, Floor Leader Joo said, "There could be a constitutional amendment or a national referendum. We need to have many discussions about the procedures." He also added that the party plans to go through a process to establish a party stance on the administrative capital relocation issue.

Regarding the plan mentioned by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun the day before to establish a branch of the National Assembly in Sejong City, he expressed a positive view, saying, "It is possible." Floor Leader Joo said, "The United Future Party also included the establishment of a National Assembly branch in the Chungcheong region pledges during the last general election," adding, "Since 13 ministries are located in Sejong City, to eliminate inefficiencies caused by directors coming to the National Assembly, it is possible to discuss establishing a branch and holding standing committee meetings in Sejong City."

However, he criticized the ruling party for mentioning the administrative capital relocation at this time as being for "presidential election purposes." Floor Leader Joo said, "16 years ago, former President Roh Moo-hyun said he 'had some election fun' regarding the administrative capital relocation. This time too, the Democratic Party is doing this partly to gain election benefits," adding, "Because housing prices in the metropolitan area have risen so much and there has been incompetence in controlling them, they temporarily shifted the issue to the administrative capital as if it would solve the problem, which raises many doubts about sincerity."

Regarding the tax reform plan announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance the day before, which includes creating a new highest income tax bracket and raising the rate to 45%, he said, "Using such tax policies to eliminate side effects like polarization is desirable, but there are also criticisms that the tax rate is too high only for the high-income bracket," adding, "Among the people, 7 million pay no taxes at all, so more serious discussions are needed about whether this aligns with various aspects of fairness."

On the controversy over candidate nominations within the Democratic Party related to next year's by-elections for Seoul and Busan mayors, he said, "The Democratic Party has stipulated this in its party constitution, and President Moon Jae-in strongly demanded it during his time as party leader. The United Future Party also did not nominate candidates in two such cases before," adding, "It would be good if the Democratic Party abides by the party constitution, but they seem to be showing signs of nominating candidates."

When asked whether the opposition might field a unified conservative opposition candidate as a counter-strategy, he said, "I think there is a possibility," adding, "There is a broad consensus that we cannot create a situation favorable to the Democratic Party candidate." Regarding the possibility of unification with Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, he said, "Politics is unpredictable," adding, "All possibilities are open."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.