Kim Dong-yeon: "Presidential Office and National Assembly to Sejong City, Supreme Court and Prosecutor's Office to Chungcheong"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon expressed the view that for national balanced development and local decentralization, the Presidential Office and the National Assembly should be relocated to Sejong City, while the Supreme Court and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office should be moved to the Chungcheong region.

At a special lecture held on the 21st at KINTEX in Goyang during the ‘2025 Korean Local Autonomy Association Winter Academic Conference,’ Governor Kim said, "We strongly advocate for the relocation of the Presidential Office, National Assembly, Supreme Court, and Supreme Prosecutors' Office to Sejong and Chungcheong, which we were unable to accomplish during the previous administration (under President Roh Moo-hyun)." He added, "Since the relocation of the Presidential Office and National Assembly to Sejong City is already being prepared, it seems it can be done quickly. As for the Supreme Court and Supreme Prosecutors' Office, they should be moved to the Chungcheong area. Although discussions are needed, I hope these initiatives will be strongly pursued."

He continued, "The important thing is national balanced development and local decentralization. I believe there should be serious discussions about this issue in the Constitution now," and proposed, "Let us take this opportunity to amend the Constitution to clearly define matters related to local governments, such as changing the name of local governments to 'local governments' (jibang jeongbu), or clearly stipulating autonomy, administration, finance, organization, and personnel."

He added, "Although the country is in turmoil and facing difficulties, I hope this moment can be turned into an opportunity to establish a clear principle within the constitutional amendment that includes concrete aspects of local decentralization and autonomy. Local autonomy is democracy."

Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province (sixth from the left), is taking a commemorative photo with participants at the '2025 Korean Local Autonomy Winter Academic Conference' held on the 21st at KINTEX in Goyang. Photo by Gyeonggi Province

Earlier, on the 12th, Governor Kim Dong-yeon emphasized three points on his social media (SNS) regarding the resolution of the December 3rd emergency martial law incident, which exposed chronic issues in Korean politics: the need for a four-year renewable term and a decentralized constitutional amendment, highlighting the necessity of a martial law prevention amendment, an economic amendment, and a power structure reform amendment.

The academic conference, co-hosted by Gyeonggi Province and the Korean Local Autonomy Association under the theme ‘30 Years of Elected Local Autonomy, New Spirit of the Era and Tasks,’ was held over two days and involved numerous associations and scholars who reviewed the achievements and limitations of local autonomy and sought future development directions.

At the conference, Gyeonggi Province organized three special sessions: ▲ Gyeonggi RE100 Eco-friendly Economic Model and Green Growth ▲ Era of Special Autonomous Cities ? Vision and Strategy for the Northern Gyeonggi Regional Economy ▲ Key Issues in Local Administrative Systems and Gyeonggi Province’s Response Measures, where major issues were discussed with academic experts.