[Reading Science] "I'd rather take a leave of absence"... Sejong and Daedeok's 'Sacheon Phobia'

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"Currently, a 'Sacheon phobia' is spreading among government officials in Sejong City and the Daejeon Daedeok Research Complex."

This was said by a government official from a ministry last month. The government is accelerating the establishment of the Aerospace Administration Agency with the location fixed in Sacheon, Gyeongnam. However, for the officials and researchers who are supposed to work at the Aerospace Administration Agency, it takes more than 4 to 5 hours from Seoul or Sejong, and since the living conditions in Sacheon are poor, almost no one wants to go there to work.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government has been collecting public opinions by announcing the draft of the "Special Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Aerospace Administration Agency" for 15 days from the 2nd to the 17th. The plan is to submit it to the National Assembly in May and open the agency within the year. The size of the organization and the number of personnel have not yet been decided. The details will be determined during the enforcement ordinance drafting process after the National Assembly passes the bill. For now, the outline is that it will be a vice-minister-level central administrative agency with a commissioner, a first deputy commissioner, and a headquarters chief. Considering other ministries, it is expected to start with about 200 personnel. The agency will oversee the Space Development Promotion Act and the Aerospace Industry Development Promotion Act, and personnel from the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Space Technology Division and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Machinery, Robot and Aerospace Division will be transferred to the Aerospace Administration Agency. It is expected that out of the 200 personnel, 100 will be existing government officials, and the remaining 100 will be fixed-term public officials responsible for research and development (R&D).

The problem is whether the officials, researchers, and private experts from the relevant ministries will readily apply to the Aerospace Administration Agency. First of all, the distance is too far. Even using the KTX from Seoul takes about 5 hours, and it takes a similar amount of time from Sejong. From Busan Gimhae Airport, it takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. Even if they want to go to the Naro Space Center (Goheung-gun, Jeonnam), the essential business trip site for the Nuri rocket launch, it takes more than 2 hours by car and nearly 10 hours by public transportation. Living conditions such as schools, housing, shopping, and cultural facilities are also problematic. The government has mandated local governments and the government to make "efforts to improve living conditions" under Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Special Act. However, due to a sharp rise in real estate prices, the law was amended in early 2022 to abolish the special apartment supply for officials who moved to Sejong City. This increases anxiety about living conditions. The government's exceptional treatment of "annual salaries of 200 to 300 million KRW or more" applies only to fixed-term public officials in charge of R&D, while regular officials receive the same treatment as in other ministries.

Complaints are coming from officials of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Especially, officials from the Ministry of Science and ICT who moved to Sejong City at the end of 2020 are more dissatisfied. It is reported that officials from departments included in the relocation target are trying to stay in Sejong City by moving before the bill passes the National Assembly and the agency opens. Some are telling their superiors, "If you are going to assign me to the Aerospace Administration Agency, please let me know in advance. I will take a leave of absence before that," or "If I have no choice but to go to Sacheon, at least promote me," according to reports. An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "Although the details and the scale of the relocation have not been decided yet, at least dozens of people will have to move," adding, "Many employees who barely settled down after moving to Sejong City two years ago and who are struggling with jeonse (long-term deposit rental) due to the abolition of special apartment supply are hardly willing to pack up again and move to Sacheon."

Researchers at the relevant research institutions are also highly dissatisfied. A representative from a national research institute said, "When the Daedeok Research Complex was established in Daejeon in the 1970s, there were concerns about difficulties in attracting overseas talent, and although much has changed with the opening of the KTX, such concerns still exist," adding, "Placing the Aerospace Administration Agency in Sacheon, which is a production and assembly site, rather than in Daejeon or Sejong City, where aerospace research, development, and policy functions are concentrated, is like detaching the head and attaching it to the hands and feet." The criticism was that "forcing the establishment in Sacheon just because it was a presidential campaign promise is a case of politics dominating research."