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Forward of Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential election victory, the conservative candidate promised in a marketing campaign speech to forge forward with a plan to relocate South Korea’s capital from Seoul.
When Yoon takes workplace in Could, his authorities is anticipated to comply with by means of on plans to make investments closely in new cultural, instructional and medical infrastructure in Sejong.
Positioned 125 kilometers (80 miles) south of Seoul, building on the location deliberate web site for the brand new South Korean capital started in 2007. Sejong was granted authorized standing as a “particular self-governing metropolis” in 2012.
As president, Yoon has promised to switch main elements of the Nationwide Meeting to the brand new metropolis, assist the creation of particular financial zones in surrounding areas to draw overseas funding and create state-of-the-art expertise and analysis institutes to draw the highest scientists.
Yoon additionally envisages enterprise alternatives for entrepreneurs and media organizations and a second presidential workplace to function in parallel with the current administration earlier than Sejong turns into the total seat of the federal government sooner or later sooner or later.
A format mannequin of Sejong Metropolis seen in 2012
In honor of King Sejong
Sejong takes its identify from King Sejong the Nice, who dominated the Joseon Dynasty for 53 years from 1397.
The thought of shifting the capital from Seoul was first proposed by former-President Roh Moo-hyun in 2003.
Roh sought to share the wealth and affect that had develop into concentrated in Seoul with different components of the nation, encourage regional improvement and scale back among the power over-crowding that continues to plague the current capital.
Nonetheless, the unique plan has hit a collection of roadblocks which have slowed progress.
Subsequent presidents had much less enthusiasm for the challenge, enterprise leaders have additionally resisted the concept, and there was even a authorized problem that went all the best way to the Constitutional Courtroom in 2004.
However, there was a gradual migration of presidency institutes and companies to town, together with the Ministry of Schooling and the Ministry of the Setting. Probably the most influential organs of the state — together with the Ministry of Overseas Affairs and the Protection Ministry – are nonetheless firmly rooted in Seoul.
Sejong metropolis at present has a inhabitants of simply over 360,000.
“Discussions on shifting the federal government to Sejong have been happening for some time and it will seem like a good suggestion as different nations have completed one thing related up to now,” stated Dan Pinkston, a professor of worldwide relations on the Seoul campus of Troy College.
Pinkston cited the creation of the brand new metropolis of Brasilia because the capital of Brazil and Canberra in Australia.
“The priority is that an excessive amount of is concentrated within the small space round Seoul – the federal government, the forms, enterprise, finance, tradition, leisure – and that has lead to over-crowding, site visitors, air pollution and never benefited the overwhelming majority of the nation,” he informed DW.
Building of the deliberate metropolis is already underway
Seoul’s safety considerations
One other main consideration has been safety, he identified, with the northern suburbs of Seoul a mere 30 kilometers from the Demilitarized Zone that divides South Korea from the North.
The priority has lengthy been {that a} sudden assault over the border would in a short time permit invading North Korean troops to achieve town.
Seoul can be properly inside vary of the North’s artillery and shifting the capital to the South would supply higher safety behind a collection of pure limitations, together with rivers and mountain ranges.
Resistance to the concept
“On paper, all of it makes lots of sense, however there was lots of push-back in varied sectors,” Pinkston stated.
“Bureaucrats at authorities ministries don’t wish to go away Seoul as their kids are within the high colleges right here they usually concern that shifting to Sejong will put them at a drawback in stepping into the precise universities and jobs down the road,” he added.
“It’s also perceived as one thing of a cultural wasteland, with nowhere close to the museums, theaters, eating places and so forth that they’ll get pleasure from right here in Seoul,” he stated.
“Seoul additionally actually means ‘capital,’ so there’s additionally opposition on that historic and symbolic degree as town is in the midst of the peninsula and may very well be the capital of a united Korea sooner or later. Folks don’t wish to flip their backs on that identification.”
The top of an NGO with shut ties to the federal government informed DW below situation of anonymity that she resigned from her work at a authorities company when she was informed her whole division can be moved to Sejong.
“There have been a number of different individuals who did the identical as me,” she stated.
“I am from Seoul, my household dwell close by and I’ve buddies and a community of colleagues and contacts all throughout town,” she stated.
“There may be a lot for me to do right here; I really like dwelling in Seoul. My life is just not all about my job and I made a decision that shifting for work was simply not acceptable. So I stop. And I do not remorse that call. Seoul is the place I wish to be.”
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
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