Criticism for "Undermining the Principles of Completing the Administrative Capital and Achieving Balanced National Development"
Kim Eunggyu, a member of the Chungcheong Regional Council, is delivering a 5-minute free speech urging the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to withdraw the relocation to Busan. Photo by Council Secretariat
The Chungcheong Regional Council, which serves as a coalition of local legislatures in the Chungcheong region, has issued a free speech statement opposing the government's consideration of relocating the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan.
Kim Eunggyu, a member of the Special Metropolitan Construction and Environment Committee (People Power Party, Chungnam), strongly opposed the government's decision to relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan and called for its immediate withdrawal.
Kim emphasized, "Relocating the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan directly contradicts the national consensus on completing Sejong as the administrative capital and achieving balanced national development," adding, "Policy decisions should prioritize the continuity of state administration and public trust, rather than the political interests of the current administration."
He also pointed out that Sejong Special Self-Governing City was established as an administrative-centered complex city in accordance with the agreement of political circles and the public after the 2004 Constitutional Court ruling against the new administrative capital. To date, only 47 central government agencies and 16 national research institutes have relocated, while 20 central government agencies and approximately 160 public institutions remain in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Amid ongoing criticism that Sejong remains an incomplete administrative capital, Kim criticized the government's decision to relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries as undermining national efforts to complete the administrative capital.
Kim further stated, "The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is not merely a field-based ministry, but serves as the control tower for national maritime policy, requiring close communication and collaboration with major central ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Environment." He expressed concern that relocating the ministry would increase the physical distance from other central ministries concentrated in Sejong, inevitably leading to administrative inefficiency, policy confusion, and a divided national administration.
He also raised the issue that the enormous financial burden of constructing new government buildings, reallocating personnel, and transferring systems could be entirely passed on to the public.
Kim particularly warned that if this decision leads to demands for the relocation of other ministries in the future, it could fundamentally undermine Sejong's status as the administrative capital. He stressed that the symbol of local autonomy and balanced development, achieved through years of effort by the residents of the Chungcheong region, must not be shaken.
Kim concluded, "The foundation of Sejong as the administrative capital must never be destabilized with each change of administration," and urged the government to immediately withdraw the decision to relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan and to fulfill its national responsibility for the prompt completion of Sejong as the administrative capital."
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