Sejong City "Sejong Assembly Hall Construction, Rosy Future"... Expected Effects Including Standing Committee Relocation

Panoramic view of the planned site for the National Assembly Sejong Chamber building. Provided by Sejong City

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City is envisioning a rosy future through the construction of the National Assembly Sejong Hall.

According to Sejong City on the 6th, recently, the National Assembly reflected a budget of 12.7 billion KRW for the construction of the National Assembly Sejong Hall in next year's government budget through bipartisan agreement. Once the National Assembly Secretariat finalizes the construction and relocation plan, the ruling and opposition parties will negotiate the total project cost through amendments to the National Assembly Act, and then proceed with the construction of the Sejong Hall in the order of international design competition, basic and detailed design, and groundbreaking.

In particular, the city anticipates that once the Sejong Hall is realized, 11 standing committees related to the Government Sejong Complex, the Budget and Accounts Committee, the National Assembly Secretariat, the Budget Policy Office, and the Legislative Research Office are likely to move from Yeouido to Sejong.

The 11 standing committees expected to relocate to the Sejong Hall are the ▲Political Affairs Committee ▲Strategy and Finance Committee ▲Education Committee ▲Administration and Security Committee ▲Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee ▲Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee ▲Industry, Trade, Energy, and Small and Medium Venture Business Committee ▲Health and Welfare Committee ▲Environment and Labor Committee ▲Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee ▲Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.

To accommodate these standing committees, the National Assembly Secretariat’s “Sejong Hall Construction Task Force” is reportedly considering building the Sejong Hall on the remaining 616,000㎡ site between Jeonwol Mountain, Sejong Lake Park, and the National Sejong Arboretum (nearly twice the size of the current Yeouido National Assembly site).

The construction cost of the Sejong Hall is estimated at 1.4263 trillion KRW, including 519.4 billion KRW for land acquisition and 821.8 billion KRW for construction costs. If all standing committees relocate, the project cost will increase to 1.718 trillion KRW.

The city expects that the regional economic ripple effects and national balanced development effects of the Sejong Hall construction will exceed the total project cost.

In fact, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements estimates that the construction of the Sejong Hall will generate a nationwide production inducement effect of 755 billion KRW, a value-added inducement effect of 244.2 billion KRW, and employment inducement of 4,850 people.

Additionally, administrative and social inefficiency costs caused by the distance between the National Assembly and the government, estimated between 2.8 trillion KRW and 4.88 trillion KRW, will be resolved, and the annual 6.7 billion KRW in travel expenses for central government officials affiliated with the Government Sejong Complex traveling outside the region is expected to be significantly reduced.

There is also a forecast that the national balanced development effect through the inflow of National Assembly and related industry workers to non-capital regions will be at least 6 to 7 times the relocation cost. According to a 2018 study by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, if 1,000 National Assembly officials relocate to Sejong, the balanced development effect is predicted to be 3.8 times the relocation cost.

The currently expected workforce size of the Sejong Hall is estimated to reach 3,700, including 243 members of the 11 standing committees, their aides, standing committee staff, Secretariat, Budget Policy Office, and Legislative Research Office employees.

In addition, there is an expectation that the economic revitalization effect from about 1,500 daily visitors (civil petitioners) on weekdays and the construction of the Sejong Hall will have a significant effect in triggering the relocation of private institutions from the metropolitan area to local regions.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, said, “The construction of the Sejong Hall will serve as a catalyst to promote national balanced development,” and added, “With 14.7 billion KRW secured for the construction of the National Assembly Sejong Hall, the city will actively cooperate with the government to ensure that design and groundbreaking proceed promptly.”

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