Debate Over National Assembly's Move to Sejong Special Autonomous City
From Roh Moo-hyun to Han Dong-hoon, a 'Campaign Promise'
Active Push for a 'Branch Office' in 2024
The 'National Assembly Sejong Assembly Hall Construction Committee' was launched in the 22nd National Assembly. This followed last year's decision by the National Assembly to relocate some standing committees to Sejong Special Self-Governing City. Discussions about moving the National Assembly building from Yeouido, Seoul, to Sejong have been ongoing for more than 20 years since the time of former President Roh Moo-hyun. Will the National Assembly be able to move entirely to Sejong?
At the time when former President Roh ran for the presidency in 2002, the plan was to build an 'administrative capital' and relocate the Blue House, National Assembly, and government ministries all together. The idea was to alleviate the overconcentration in Seoul and achieve balanced regional development by moving major administrative institutions. However, in 2004, the Constitutional Court ruled the Roh administration's 'Special Act on the Construction of a New Administrative Capital' unconstitutional, citing the customary constitution that Seoul is the capital of the Republic of Korea.
On May 23rd, a memorial service marking the 15th anniversary of the passing of former President Roh Moo-hyun was held at the Ecological Culture Park in Jinyeong-eup, Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam. [Image source=Yonhap News]
As a follow-up, former President Roh chose to promote an 'administrative city' instead of a 'capital.' The plan was to establish 'Sejong Special Self-Governing City' in the Yeongi and Gongju areas of Chungnam Province, relocating 9 ministries, 2 offices, and 2 agencies of the central government, as well as 16 national research institutes. This included the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. In 2007, Sejong City held a groundbreaking ceremony under the name 'Administrative City Complex (Happy City).' However, the constitutional court's ruling blocked any discussion of relocating the National Assembly.
Later, with the Lee Myung-bak administration, the term 'economic city' was mentioned, and the administrative city lost momentum. After many twists and turns, central administrative agencies gradually settled in Sejong starting in 2012. However, finding a way to relocate the National Assembly remained difficult. Yet, as government ministries that had moved to Sejong pointed out that 'distance from the National Assembly causes work disruptions,' the idea of a 'National Assembly branch office' emerged as an alternative.
Leaving the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, intact and establishing a branch office in Sejong was supported by feasibility studies showing effects such as stabilizing real estate prices. The National Assembly allocated 1 billion KRW for the design of the Sejong Assembly Hall in the 2019 and 2020 budgets. The 2021 government budget passed by the National Assembly included 12.7 billion KRW for the construction of the Sejong Assembly Hall. Sejong City expressed expectations, saying, "By securing a total of 14.7 billion KRW, the project will accelerate," and "Once the Sejong Assembly Hall is built, inefficiencies in national administration will be resolved, and policy quality will improve."
On July 27, 2020, the "Democratic Party of Korea Administrative Capital Completion Promotion Team 1st Meeting" was held at the National Assembly. From the left, Assemblyman Lee Hae-sik, who was the secretary of the promotion team, Woo Won-shik, then head of the promotion team, Kim Tae-nyeon, then floor leader, and Assemblyman Park Beom-gye attended. /Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@
In particular, the Democratic Party of Korea made efforts to establish the Sejong Assembly Hall by creating the 'Administrative Capital Completion Promotion Team' in 2020. Woo Won-sik, then the head of the promotion team and currently serving as the Speaker of the National Assembly, said, "Like the relationship between Washington and New York in the United States, we will develop Sejong as the administrative capital and Seoul as the economic capital, making them the best international cities."
After discussions, last year (2023), the 'Regulations on the Establishment and Operation of the National Assembly Sejong Assembly Hall' passed the plenary session of the National Assembly. The regulation, proposed by former Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, included relocating 12 standing committees of the National Assembly, such as the Political Affairs, Planning and Finance, Education, and Public Administration and Security Committees, which oversee administrative ministries located in Sejong. According to this regulation, the National Assembly Sejong Assembly Hall Construction Committee was also established in the 22nd National Assembly this year. It was created by Speaker Woo Won-sik at the suggestion of Representative Kang Jun-hyun (re-elected, Sejong-si Eul). On the 12th, Representative Kang emphasized, "We must prevent project delays or downsizing."
While the branch office Sejong Assembly Hall is being promoted, during the last general election period, pledges emerged to move the entire National Assembly building to Sejong. Han Dong-hoon, then the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party and now its leader, took the initiative by stating 'complete relocation of the National Assembly' just before the April 10 general election. This attracted attention as it actively adopted a stance emphasized by the progressive camp, including former President Roh Moo-hyun.
Handonghun, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, announced the pledge for the "complete relocation of the National Assembly to Sejong City." On March 28, at the People Power Party's Chungcheong Region Victory Resolution Rally held at the National Assembly Sejong Hall site in Sejong Special Self-Governing City, Jeong Jin-seok, then Chungcheong Region Election Committee Chairman, is speaking. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Jung Jin-seok, then the People Power Party's Chungcheong region election committee chairman, also responded. Jung, a senior lawmaker who served five terms representing Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang counties in Chungnam Province, currently serves as the Chief Secretary to the President. At the time, he welcomed the pledge through his personal SNS, saying, "The project has been carried out under the awkward name of a branch office," and "Chairman Han's promise is to make the National Assembly building constructed in Sejong the Republic of Korea's sole and legitimate 'National Assembly.'"
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