Ha Tae-kyung: "National Referendum on Moving the Capital to Sejong City Alongside the Presidential Election"

Government and Ruling Party Urged to Amend National Referendum Act Within the Year

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, is announcing his presidential campaign pledges for the Chungcheong region on the morning of the 17th in front of the Roh Moo-hyun Memorial Park within Sejong Lake Park in Sejong City. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Han Hataekyeong, a member of the People Power Party running as an opposition presidential candidate, has pledged to "promote the relocation of the capital to Sejong City" as part of his campaign promises. To realize this, he proposed to the government and ruling party to amend the National Referendum Act and hold a referendum simultaneously with the presidential election in March next year.

On the 17th, Representative Han held a campaign announcement at the Roh Moo-hyun Memorial Park in Sejong City, stating, "I will relocate the capital of the Republic of Korea to Sejong City," and proposed, "Let us hold a referendum on the capital relocation simultaneously with this presidential election."

He urged the government and ruling party, saying, "The National Referendum Act, which is currently unconstitutional, should be amended within this year to hold a referendum on the capital relocation simultaneously with this presidential election," adding, "This plan is the most certain way to minimize social costs and put an end to the 20-year-old controversy over the capital relocation."

The proposal to relocate the administrative capital for regional balanced development has been mentioned as a campaign promise by almost all candidates in past presidential and primary elections, including former Presidents Park Chung-hee, Kim Dae-jung, and Lee Myung-bak.

On this day, Representative Han explained the background of his proposal, saying, "The administrative capital relocation project pursued by former President Roh Moo-hyun was thwarted by the Constitutional Court's ruling of unconstitutionality in 2004. As a result, only some government ministries moved to Sejong City," and pointed out, "The effect of building Sejong City did not meet expectations and only caused inefficiency in national administration."

He emphasized, "I will revive local areas and the Republic of Korea through a denuclearization strategy and a strategy focusing on developing local cities," adding, "The first step is to completely relocate the capital to Sejong City."

He also criticized the proposal to keep the Blue House in Seoul and move only the National Assembly to Sejong City, saying, "This plan promoted by the Democratic Party is another trick to avoid the controversy over the capital relocation," and insisted, "The nation's long-term future cannot be patched up with tricks. We must confront this head-on."