[Exclusive] 'Like Copenhagen' UN City Considered for Gwanghwamun Government Complex... Democratic Party Seoul Vision

Temporary Financial Special Zone in Yeouido, the New Location of the National Assembly

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea is considering a plan to create a "UN City" by introducing the 'Copenhagen Model' to attract United Nations (UN) agencies in the vacant spaces left by relocating some government institutions based in Seoul to Sejong City. Yeouido, where the National Assembly's relocation is becoming certain, is planned to be developed into a financial special zone offering tax reduction benefits. This is the Democratic Party's vision for Seoul: to partially relocate institutions, vacate spaces, and refill them as an "Economic and Cultural Special City." This is expected to be a major agenda item in the Seoul mayoral by-election next April.

On the 19th, a Democratic Party official stated, "The activities of the 'Task Force for Balanced National Development and Completion of the Administrative Capital' are in the final stages, and the specific institutions to be relocated will be announced this month after consultation with the party leadership." He added, "We are reviewing the scope of government ministries to be relocated besides the National Assembly, as well as plans for the Yeouido financial special zone and the UN City concept for the Gwanghwamun government office."

The government ministries remaining in Seoul include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, totaling five. However, ministries related to diplomacy and security have a relatively low possibility of relocation. A bill designating the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as relocation targets was proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Seung-rae on the 3rd. Other government committees may also be subject to relocation; the Government Seoul Office houses the National Balanced Development Committee, Personal Information Protection Commission, National Education Council, Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Financial Services Commission, Northern Economic Cooperation Committee, Local Autonomy Committee, and Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee.

The 'UN City' concept was proposed by Professor Lim Chae-won of Kyung Hee University's Future Civilization Institute at the "Global Economic Capital Seoul Future Forum" held by the Democratic Party's Administrative Capital Completion Task Force last September. This is the so-called 'Copenhagen Model.' Since 2013, Copenhagen has attracted 11 UN agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and World Health Organization (WHO).

The idea is to attract agencies to Seoul as a "World Peace City" in Asia, following New York in the United States, Geneva in Switzerland, Vienna in Austria, and Nairobi in Kenya. At the forum, Professor Lim said, "New York, where the UN headquarters is located, generates an economic effect of 4 trillion won annually, and Vienna creates employment for about 5,000 people," adding, "If an international organization mediating conflicts with North Korea is stationed here, it could create a turning point for easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula."

If the National Assembly relocates, Yeouido is likely to be developed as a temporary financial special zone. The government has previously designated it as a financial hub and tried to attract overseas financial institutions and companies, but results have been minimal. Therefore, taking advantage of the National Assembly's relocation, the plan is to develop Yeouido into a financial center that could replace Hong Kong by offering more radical incentives, deregulation benefits, and establishing a financial graduate school and fintech campus.

Seo Wang-jin, director of the Seoul Institute, proposed at the forum to designate Yeouido as a financial special zone providing corporate tax reductions for startups, income tax relief for financial workers, and simplified procedures for location permits.

The Democratic Party is also considering presenting a vision by dividing Seoul into regions. For the northeastern area, they plan to accelerate the bio cluster being developed on the site of the Changdong vehicle depot, which is confirmed to relocate to Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. The Seoul Institute cited Seoul's status as the world's number one city for new drug development clinical trials and the concentration of the country's top five general hospitals as grounds for specializing in the bio industry. This would create another bio development axis following Incheon Songdo and Osong in Chungbuk. For the southeastern area, plans are already underway to develop the COEX and Jamsil Sports Complex area into an international exchange complex focused on the exhibition industry.

From the Democratic Party's perspective, they are carefully considering this ahead of next year's Seoul mayoral by-election. Depending on how the scope of relocation is set, opposition could outweigh expectations for the new vision. A Democratic Party official said, "The scale of the Seoul vision plan to be presented may vary depending on how the relocation targets are determined. A final decision is needed."

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