Sejong Mayor Minho Choi: "Completion of Administrative Capital Should Be Viewed from the Perspective of Korea's Future"

Welcoming Speech at the Summer Joint Academic Conference of the Korean Association for Public Administration
"A Golden Time to Call for a New Constitutional Amendment"

On June 18, Minho Choi, Mayor of Sejong City, stated, "The completion of Sejong as the administrative capital must be viewed from a macro perspective, considering national balanced development and the future of the Republic of Korea."

In his welcoming speech at the Summer Joint Academic Conference of the Korean Association for Public Administration, held at the Sejong Joint Campus on the same day, Mayor Choi emphasized, "The Sejong Joint Campus is the perfect venue to discuss the evolution, achievements, and future of K-administration, which is the theme of this year's conference."

At the Summer Joint Academic Conference of the Korean Association for Public Administration held on the 18th, Minho Choi, Mayor of Sejong City, is delivering a welcoming speech.
Photo by Office of Planning and Coordination, Policy Planning Division

He went on to say, "One innovative solution to overcome Korea's crises, such as low birth rates and an aging population, is constitutional amendment. Sejong City has now entered a golden time when it can call for a new constitutional amendment, moving beyond the 1987 constitutional system."

He explained that, amid active discussions on the restructuring of the power structure and regional balanced development, Sejong City as the administrative capital has reached a turning point where it can establish its status and play a central role.

He stressed, "Through constitutional amendment, it may be possible to address issues such as the concentration of the capital region and the relocation of the presidential office. However, these are only necessary conditions for balanced national development and resolving the issue of regional extinction in Korea, not sufficient ones. It is now time to seek new conditions that can truly resolve these challenges."

He also called on the participants to maintain continuous interest and support for true national balanced development and the successful future of Sejong as the administrative capital.

In particular, he stated, "The completion of Sejong as the administrative capital should not end as a political slogan. I hope that this academic conference will foster active discussions on how to address issues such as low birth rates, regional extinction, and polarization, both administratively and theoretically."

Meanwhile, this seminar is part of the Summer Joint Academic Conference of the Korean Association for Public Administration, which is hosted and organized by Sejong City, the Korean Association for Public Administration, the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University, KDI, and the Korean Association for Organization Studies. The conference will be held over three days starting June 18.