S. Korea selects new capital site
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea has confirmed it will move its future seat of government to a rural site south of its capital Seoul.
Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan told a news conference Wednesday the government has selected the Yongi-Gongju area, which lies in the center of South Korea, to be the site for the new capital.
The government plans to begin buying land for the 7,100 hectare (17,540 acres) site next year, with construction scheduled to start in 2007 and end in 2030.
The government chose the site of the new capital, which has yet to be named, over two other areas because of its superior transport and environmental conditions, officials said.
The presidential office and 72 other key state institutions will be located there.
But other organizations, such as the National Assembly and the Supreme Court will decide whether to move or not, according to Yonhap news agency.
Fierce debate
President Roh Moo-hyun made relocating the capital away from crowded Seoul a key plank of his election campaign.
At the time he said he believed it would help decentralize the country and boost regional development in Asia's third-largest economy.
But the relocation -- which could cost as much as 110 trillion won ($94 billion) -- has sparked fierce debate among rival parties, who have raised questions about the efficiency and feasibility of the project.
The main opposition Grand National Party claims the government is recklessly pushing what it says is an unrealistic plan without popular support, Yonhap reports.
A media survey showed that more than half of the public are opposed to the plan, Yonhap reported, citing its high costs compared with its expected effects.
"The government's unilateral announcement of the new capital site is invalid," Yonhap cited Lee Hahn-koo, the GNP's chief policy coordinator as saying.
"It is nonsense to call it the execution of a law."
The GNP plans to join forces with the progressive Democratic Labor Party, which also opposes the relocation.
The move still faces legal obstacles and is the subject of a constitutional appeal brought by civic groups opposed to a plan they regard as ill thought out and with little consensus, according to Reuters reports.
But Prime Minister Lee has dismissed the criticisms, saying it is a "legal matter for the government to proceed with the capital relocation plan as scheduled."
"Otherwise, we are not abiding by the law on capital relocation."
Rival parties passed a special law on the relocation in the National Assembly last year.
