"Sejong City Must Become a Symbol of Democracy"
Hwang Unha, a member of the National Assembly from the Party for National Innovation, is explaining the background of the bill to amend the Court Organization Act, which proposes relocating the Supreme Court to Sejong City, at the press briefing room. / Photo by Office of the Assembly Member
Hwang Unha, a member of the National Assembly from the Party for National Innovation (a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, proportional representative), held a press conference at the National Assembly briefing room on November 13. He explained the purpose and direction of the recently sponsored "Partial Amendment to the Court Organization Act," and strongly urged the relocation of the Supreme Court to Sejong City.
Han Changmin, leader of the Social Democratic Party, attended the press conference and expressed his agreement on the necessity of judicial reform and the completion of the administrative capital.
Assemblyman Hwang stated, "Sejong City, as the administrative capital, should not be just an administrative city, but a capital symbolizing democracy." He expressed concern that "the current multifunctional administrative city lacks a clear vision and shows limitations in alleviating concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area." He continued, "Completing the administrative capital is fundamental to balanced national development and is about shaping the future of the Republic of Korea. Since both the government and the National Assembly are committed to completing the administrative capital, the remaining task is to determine what kind of capital we will create."
He added, "Sejong City must substantively embody the structure of democracy," and emphasized, "Just as Washington DC is a city where the legislature, executive, and judiciary coexist, Sejong should also be a city of separation of powers and mutual checks and balances."
Therefore, relocating the Supreme Court, the symbol of the judiciary, to Sejong should be seen not merely as a relocation, but as judicial reform. He said, "The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed within the separation of powers based on popular sovereignty, and only when the Supreme Court is located in the administrative capital will a true system of checks and oversight be completed."
He particularly highlighted that Sejong has 330,000 pyeong (approximately 1.09 million square meters) of available land for relocating public institutions and that a new Supreme Court building could be constructed for 50 billion won.
Assemblyman Hwang explained, "A fully realized administrative capital in Sejong should be a city that symbolizes the national identity of the Republic of Korea. As an advanced democracy, our capital must include the Supreme Court, as this is the path to achieving both balanced development and judicial reform."
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