Democratic Party Actively Promotes Relocation of 11 Standing Committees to Sejong... Yeouido to Become Financial Hub

Democratic Party's National Balanced Development Administrative Capital Promotion Team Announces Administrative Capital Relocation Plan
Education, Culture, Sports, and Budget Special Committees Among 11 Standing Committees Relocated to Sejong
Yeouido Designated as Global Financial Special Zone

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] On the 9th, the Democratic Party of Korea announced a plan to relocate 11 standing committees, including the National Assembly's Education Committee and Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, to Sejong City for national balanced development and the relocation of the administrative capital, while fostering Seoul as a global economic and financial capital.

Woo Won-sik, head of the Democratic Party's National Balanced Development and Administrative Capital Promotion Task Force, held a press conference at the National Assembly that morning to announce this administrative capital relocation plan.

The task force presented four major principles and goals for balanced development: ▲promoting national balanced development to prevent local extinction ▲overcoming administrative inefficiencies caused by the separation of Seoul and Sejong ▲securing public consensus on the administrative capital relocation ▲and promoting a rational relocation of the National Assembly through bipartisan agreement.

They also proposed a mega-city as a new balanced development strategy. The idea is to transform the current unipolar structure centered on the Seoul metropolitan area, which attracts manpower, money, and technology, into a multipolar system by adopting multiple development axes and mega-cities as a new balanced development strategy to sustain regional development.

◆What is the scale of the National Assembly relocation?=The task force promised to relocate 10 standing committees under ministries located in Sejong (Education Committee, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Agriculture, Forestry and Maritime Committee, Industry, Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises Committee, Health and Welfare Committee, Environment and Labor Committee, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Political Affairs Committee, Planning and Finance Committee, and Public Administration and Security Committee) as well as the Special Budget and Accounts Committee.

The Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Legislation and Judiciary Committee, National Defense Committee, and Women and Family Committee were excluded. This is because ministries such as Foreign Affairs, Unification, Justice, National Defense, and Women and Family, which are excluded from relocation under the Special Act on Administrative Capital, remain in Seoul.

Although Democratic Party lawmaker Jo Seung-rae previously proposed a bill to include the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Women and Family as relocation targets, the prevailing view within the party is that relocating foreign affairs and security ministries is realistically difficult due to the nature of their work.

The Democratic Party cited strong public demand as the basis for relocating the National Assembly. According to a recent poll commissioned by the party, 52.5% of respondents supported relocating the National Assembly excluding the Blue House.

Representative Woo said, "We reflected 12.7 billion won in the 2021 government budget for design costs through bipartisan agreement," adding, "We will promptly push for the passage of the amendment to the National Assembly Act, which provides the legal basis for establishing the Sejong Assembly Hall, so that the project can begin in earnest."

However, he confirmed that "the conditions for relocating the Blue House are not yet mature at this time," and said, "Starting with the Sejong Assembly Hall relocating 11 standing committees, we will form a special committee in the National Assembly to agree on the phased relocation of the National Assembly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆How will Seoul and Busan change?=The Democratic Party plans to develop Yeouido as a 'Northeast Asia financial hub city' to replace Hong Kong. Yeouido will be designated as a global financial special zone and developed as an Asian financial hub.

To this end, they plan to innovate tax, regulatory systems, and legal services to meet global standards and promote the integration of finance in East Yeouido with the Fourth Industrial Revolution in West Yeouido.

They also proposed creating an economic capital belt connecting Yeouido (National Assembly) - Sangam - Magok - Changdong. The National Assembly site will be transformed into a science and startup cluster related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with the main building becoming a global academy and convention center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the members' office building turning into a venture startup innovation center where startups and investors meet, the National Assembly library becoming a data exchange, and the front yard converted into a venture park serving as both an exhibition hall and a public park.

They expect that the combination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, bio, and IT in Sangam, Magok, and Changdong will make Yeouido the central axis of balanced development in all directions.

Regarding the development of the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) region, the task force said it will actively promote key projects exempt from preliminary feasibility studies, including the new airport on Gadeokdo Island and the Southern Metropolitan Railroad, to build infrastructure in each area.

◆What is the impact on the by-election and presidential election?=The administrative capital relocation plan announced by the Democratic Party is expected to become a major issue that will determine the outcome of the Seoul mayoral by-election and the presidential election.

Accordingly, the party is expected to continuously promote the administrative capital relocation issue from the perspectives of balanced development and presidential election strategy. Analysts say this could give the Democratic Party an advantage in agenda-setting compared to the People Power Party, which is struggling to find a suitable central strategy for the next presidential election.

However, this issue could be a double-edged sword in the Seoul mayoral by-election. The recent decline in the Democratic Party's support in Seoul is partly attributed to the administrative capital relocation issue.

Furthermore, in political circles, relocating the administrative capital as a solution to the real estate problem is seen as a shift in the gravity of the issue and could be misinterpreted as an attempt to evade responsibility for the real estate problem. Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, also said, "If you really have a firm idea about relocating the capital, make it a campaign pledge in the Seoul mayoral by-election."

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