[Asia Exclusive] Lee Chun-hee "National Assembly and Blue House Relocation to Sejong is the Finale of Completing the Administrative Capital"

Interview with Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong Special Self-Governing City

"To Lead Balanced Development, National Assembly and Blue House Must Relocate"
"KTX Sejong Station Absolutely Necessary... Will Resolve Conflicts"
"Sejong's Growth and Development to Spread Across Chungcheong Region"
"House Price Increase Rate High but Bubble Will Disappear"
"Unlike Capital Area, Sufficient Housing Supply Sites Available"
"Smart City Project Achievements... SPC to Be Established This Year"

On the 14th, Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, met with Asia Economy in the mayor's office at Sejong City Hall in Boram-dong, Sejong, to discuss the role and challenges of Sejong as the administrative capital. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Interview = Asia Economy Jeong Doohwan, Head of Construction and Real Estate Department, Organized by Reporter Moon Jewon] "Both the National Assembly and the Blue House ultimately need to move to Sejong. Sejong must fulfill its role as the political and administrative capital to resolve the national imbalance caused by excessive concentration in Seoul and other metropolitan areas."

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, explained the necessity and role of Sejong as the 'administrative capital' from the perspective of national balanced development. Mayor Lee has been involved since the planning stage of 'Sejong Special Self-Governing City' and has served as the 2nd and 3rd mayor, leading the city's completion. He is literally a 'living witness' to Sejong's growth.

Although plans promoted during previous governments faced some setbacks, the ruling Democratic Party announced a plan to relocate the National Assembly to Sejong at the end of last year, accelerating the completion of the administrative capital. Notably, this year’s government budget includes 12.7 billion KRW for the design of the National Assembly Sejong building.

Mayor Lee said, "For Sejong to lead national balanced development, the complete relocation of the National Assembly is essential. We must first swiftly proceed with feasible projects such as constructing the Sejong Assembly building and relocating some standing committees to resolve administrative inefficiencies." However, there are considerable obstacles in the process of completing Sejong’s population to 500,000.

The issue of the National Assembly relocation has caused apartment prices in Sejong to soar, destabilizing the real estate market, and there is significant dissatisfaction from surrounding areas fearing accelerated regional hollowing due to population absorption. The installation of a KTX Sejong Station and the still insufficient urban functions remain challenges.

On the 14th, we met him at the mayor’s office in Boram-dong, Sejong City Hall, to discuss the role of administrative capital Sejong and its future tasks.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

- Regional selfishness in the metropolitan area is intensifying. The necessity of administrative capital Sejong is significant.

△There is no country with as severe concentration as ours. When I was a director at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, more than half of the central government directors were from provinces. So even while living in Seoul, there was a consciousness that the provinces needed to develop. But now, most central government officials are from the metropolitan area. Including decision-making structures, society is now centered on Seoul natives. Maintaining the proposition of national balanced development has become difficult. For Sejong to lead national balanced development and fulfill its role as the political and administrative capital, the relocation of the National Assembly and the Blue House is absolutely necessary.

- Including the existing 2 billion KRW budget, 14.7 billion KRW has been secured for the design and construction of the National Assembly Sejong building. What are the specific plans and tasks?

△It is necessary to amend the National Assembly Act to secure the legal basis for establishing the Sejong Assembly building. Speaker Park Byeong-seok expressed his intention at the New Year press conference to amend the National Assembly Act in the first half of the year and start the design competition in the second half. The city plans to actively support public hearings and the swift amendment of the National Assembly Act. After the law is amended, procedures such as preliminary planning research, international design competition, and basic and detailed design will be required.

- The new KTX Sejong Station is being promoted, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport officially opposed it last year, and conflicts between regions are expected as demand for the nearby Osong Station may decrease.

△Ultimately, it has to be built. Chungbuk worries that demand for Osong Station may decrease, but Osong Station already serves 8 million passengers annually and is actually considering expansion. Rather than expanding Osong Station, building the KTX Sejong Station is better. The opposition from Chungbuk is understood as a request to also consider development plans for KTX Osong Station. The Ministry of Land’s opposition is based on somewhat insufficient economic feasibility. However, a study conducted by the city showed a benefit-cost ratio (B/C) of 0.86, and with the future construction of the Sejong Assembly building and Daejeon-Sejong metropolitan railroad, and population growth in Sejong, economic feasibility can improve further.

- The Chungcheong region and Daejeon fear the 'straw-effect' of Sejong. There are concerns that regional hollowing accelerates as the population flowing into Sejong increases.

△This is a short-term phenomenon that appears in the early stages of a new city. Once Sejong’s population reaches capacity, overflow to nearby areas is inevitable. In the long term, as Sejong is completed as a practical administrative capital, the metropolitan population will naturally flow into the Chungcheong region. This way, Sejong will be completed as a practical political and administrative capital, fulfilling its function, and the growth and development effects of Sejong can spread throughout the Chungcheong region.

- When can Sejong be completed as an administrative capital?

△The plan is set until 2030, so the goal is to complete the city by then. The planning phase deliberately set a long period to minimize the impact on surrounding cities. The population was planned to be 150,000 by 2015, 300,000 by last year, and 500,000 by 2030. As of last year, Sejong’s population was 360,000. Excluding the original 100,000 residents, the increase was 260,000, which is less than the planned 300,000. Housing construction was also delayed by about 1.5 to 2 years.

- What caused the delay?

△There are three main players in urban construction: the government, project implementers such as Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and the private sector. The one who did not fulfill their role properly was the government. The plan was delayed due to indecision on policy direction, and infrastructure investment was insufficient. This was caused by delayed policy decisions during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

- Sejong is safe, clean, and good to live in, but there are criticisms that it is too planned and inconvenient in many ways. What would you like to improve?

△First, there are complaints about transportation. When the city was initially designed, it was planned mainly for people moving down from Seoul to settle here, but as the initial concept did not work well, many people commute from Daejeon and Cheongju. Traffic within Sejong city is fine, but there are complaints about transportation between cities. Another issue is living infrastructure. There is no department store yet. The city is not yet large enough to support a department store. Also, cultural infrastructure expansion is delayed. There are many young people, but their needs are not well met. We plan to increase facility investment going forward.

- Last year, Sejong’s real estate price increase rate was the highest nationwide. Excessive price increases inevitably burden city administration.

△It is true that the rise in rental and sales prices in Sejong is high due to nationwide supply-demand imbalance and external variables such as the establishment of the National Assembly Sejong building and the completion of the administrative capital. However, speculative bubbles will disappear over time. Temporary supply-demand imbalances can be resolved through housing supply. Unlike Seoul, Sejong has plenty of available land. Even if this land is insufficient, there is ample usable land nearby. From this year onward, 75,000 apartment units will be supplied in parts of the 4th living zone and the 5th to 6th living zones. We have agreed with related agencies to advance the supply schedule and increase the volume starting this year.

- Sejong is a global leader in smart cities. What is a smart city?

△Simply put, a smart city solves various urban problems such as transportation, housing, and environment not by traditional methods but by smart technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), big data, Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain. For example, Sejong’s shared bicycle system 'Eoullim' doubled its usage last year compared to the previous year. Using big data, bicycles are appropriately distributed to locations where citizens need them, reducing inconvenience. This can be applied to all fields including smart health, smart energy, and smart farms.

- What are the achievements so far in smart city development and future plans?

△Sejong is the best in the world at smart city projects. Last year, it received the world’s first international certification as a leading smart city from the British Standards Institution (BSI). The city plans to create an optimal city with advanced technology by developing a national pilot smart city in the 5-1 living zone. This year, a special purpose corporation (SPC) will be established to build and operate the pilot city, with the city directly investing capital and participating in operations. Discussions will also be held with private operators and the Korea Transport Institute on building and operating smart service infrastructure. Ultimately, the plan is to make the entire Sejong a smart city.