[Editorial] Evidence for Pros and Cons of Relocation of Capital

Over the issue of relocation of the nation’s capital, the debate between Roh Moo-hyun, presidential candidate of the pro-government Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and his rival of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP), Lee Hoi-chang, is heating up. Mr. Roh insisting that the sprawling in Seoul and its vicinity should be stopped, while Mr. Lee is warning that housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area will plummet. As the debate continues, Seoul citizens and residents in Chungcheong areas have more doubts about the two candidates’ arguments.

Mr. Roh is saying that even if the capital is moved from Seoul, those who leave Seoul and its vicinity will not exceed 500,000. But in that capital means more than a center for administration in Korean history and politics and administration are very important compared to other sectors, it is questionable whether only this number of people will move out of the metropolitan area. If Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, and the government building and the National Assembly will be relocated, companies, financial institutions and even news companies could unavoidably follow suit. Therefore, Mr. Roh should produce basis for that calculation to support his argument.

In addition, he should make it clear how he reached the conclusion that even if of the more than 10 million Seoul citizens, only 500,000 people move out of Seoul, a lot of problems including traffic and pollution will be somewhat solved and the quality of life in the Seoul metropolitan area will improve. We really wonder how Mr. Roh predicts that driving hours from Incheon International Airport to hotels in downtown Seoul will shorten though the decrease in the population of Seoul is very small.

For his part, Mr. Lee also has some weakness in his argument. He is predicting that because some 1 million people will leave Seoul, housing prices will plummet and some commercial areas will collapse. Is that likely? The gap between the two candidates is only 500,000 people. Do such phenomena take place due to the additional 500,000 people or due to people’s anxiety over the relocation itself? In Mr. Lee’s argument, the answer is not clear. He should clarify whether he had a close review on the expected number of Seoul citizens to move from the region and the functional change of Seoul and present the result of the review if he did.

Even now, Mr. Roh should explain the weakness in his relocation plan and Mr. Lee should come up with measures to resolve the concentration of population in the Seoul metropolitan area.