Bishkek, March 19, 2018 / Kabar/. A new administrative capital city of South Korea is being constructed in 120 kilometers away from the current capital city of Seoul.
Sejong, with the nickname of the city of happiness is growing as the de facto administrative capital relocating most of the central government ministries and agencies
In early 2007, the South Korean government decided to create a special administrative district to relocate nine ministries and four national agencies from Seoul. The new administrative city’s official opening was held in 2012.
The city will gather all major central administrative organizations for improved efficiency of the establishment and implementation of policies.
Sejong is named after King Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty, one of the greatest kings in Korean history.
Sejong city wants to be a world-class city with all dreams and hopes of the people as the name literally means “the world’s best”.
Currently the population of the city is about 300 thousand and the city aims to have a population of 800 thousand by 2030.
Sejong city strives to create “A child-women friendly city” by supporting the healthy growth of children, giving world-class smart education, building a woman and family-friendly society.
Moreover, Sejong city wants to become one of the “Top 10 Cultural Cities” of Korea.
Dr. Lee Choon-hee, Sejong Mayor, at a meeting in the Sejong City Hall with a group of journalists from 50 countries of the world, including two from Kyrgyzstan, told that as the practical administrative capital of the country Sejong city is the brain and heart of the Republic of Korea with the 60 % of government administrations now functioning in Sejong.
More than 70 journalists from various countries of the world gathered in South Korea in early March for the World Journalists Conference organized by the Journalists Association of Korea to discuss the role of press for denuclearization of Korean peninsula and world peace. Within the framework of the conference journalists were able to get acquainted with the social and economic development of the country by visiting several cities.
The Sejong Mayor explained journalists that the most important reason to create the administrative city was to address overpopulation in south area. “That’s why we choose Sejong as an administrative capital,” he said.
He also explained that Sejong is located in the centre of South Korea and citizens from any other cities can get Sejong within 2 hours by car and 40 minutes by train. “Its 120 km south of Seoul,” he said.
Mayor Lee Choon-hee added that the Korean Government and the National Assembly debate on relocating and amends the constitution to relocate the administrative capital in local elections in June.
He expressed the hope that the National Assembly and the Supreme Court are also relocated to Sejong city.
Mayor Lee Choon-hee said that the construction of half of the area of Sejong city is completed.
“Sejong is the city where you can expect and imagine of the future because 5 year later it will be totally different,” he concluded.
The author of the idea to relocate the administrative capital is former President Roh Moo-hyun, who sought to relocate the national capital of South Korea from the metropolitan city of Seoul to a new multifunctional administrative city in the centre of the country. The goal was to reduce the influence and dominance of Seoul on national governance and economics, whilst promoting the regional development of other areas of the country.
This is not the first relocation of administrative capital in the world, this is not a unique phenomenon, its a quite common. The capitals are relocated for various geographic, strategic, and sometimes even more peculiar reasons.
There are many examples of that: Kazakhstan’s Astana, Malaysia’s Putra Jaya, Turkey’s Ankara and many others.
Nurzhan Kasmalieva
Kabar News Agency
Seoul-Bishkek
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