Nation`s New Administrative Capital Will be Decided in May or June Next Year

It is expected that an intended area to build the nation`s new administrative capital in the central areas of Chungcheong province will be chosen around May or June next year.

Kim Byung-jun, a member of a subcommittee for domestic affairs at the President-elect Roh`s government transition team, reported on Feb.5 at a tour form to major provinces held at the Korea Science Promotion Foundation, Daejun, “As the president-elect promised during the election campaigns, the incoming government is planning to designate the place to build the nation`s administrative capital in the first part of next year and to break the ground in early 2007.” A senior official at the transition team hinted the announcement of the designated area for the new capital will be made around May or June next year by saying, “It is highly likely that the decision will be made on the intended spot for the new administrative capital right after the 17th general elections.”

Mr. Kim Byung-jun also outlined a sketched timetable for the new capital construction plan. He said that right after the president-elect takes office in Feb.25, the new administration is planning to install a special committee for the transfer of the nation`s new administrative capital, decide the designated area early in 2004, draw a design and carry out compensation process between 2005 and 2006, and begin a construction to build up buildings, where some ministries and agencies of the government will move in first, in the first part of 2007. It is expected that advanced transfer of some ministries and agencies of the government will begin from 2010.

Meanwhile, the presidential transition team decided to head off reckless development and real estate speculation around the Chungcheong areas by designating all the areas of the intended construction area for the new capital as “city reorganization zones” which will follow measures in which the takeover committee has already designated Daejun and Noeun as heated real estate speculation zones and 11 cities and counties in Chungcheong province as monitoring areas for real estate transactions.

“According to experts` estimation of the total costs of the capital transfer, there is little difference between the costs, somewhere between 5 trillion won, the president-elect had presented during the election period and the costs experts estimated. We believe that the water shortage problem, raised by some part of the society, is possibly addressed,” he said.

President-elect Roh Moo-hyun at the provincial tour form made it clear, “The transfer of the nation`s administrative capital will be implemented without fail through an agreement in the National Assembly. If the National Assembly fails to pass a bill concerning the transfer, the issue will be put to referendums.”

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com