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“Why Speed Up New Capital Relocation?”

Posted June. 13, 2004 22:08,   

한국어

As the new administrative capital relocation project is being revealed as a de facto “transfer of the capital,” transferring the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court and major public institutions, cautious opinions on the relocation are being raised.

In the particular respect that there haven’t been enough procedures collecting public opinion, even though the transfer of the capital is national matter of grave concern that will be accomplished 610 years after the foundation of a capital during the Yi Dynasty dating back to 1394, the indication is flourishing that preliminary work asking for citizens’ agreement, including referendums or public hearings, has to take precedence.

Experts are also pointing out that detailed investigations on propriety, including the economic effects of the capital transfer, balanced regional development, and the establishment of a logistic foundation is necessary because the expenses of transfer and construction amount to several tens of trillions of won, and are coming completely out of the peoples’ own pockets.

According to a telephone poll of 800 men and women nationwide conducted by the polling company R&R (CEO: No Kyu-hyung) on Sunday, supporting opinion on the referendum was overwhelmingly high, with 71.1 percent of respondents agreeing and 25.1 percent disagreeing.

A total of 67.5 percent of respondents to an opinion poll of 1,038 men and women nationwide conducted by the Korea Research Center at MBC’s request was found to support the referendum.

Speaking on the occasion, public administration professor of Kyunghee University Kim Byung-jin, former chief of the Korean Association for Policy Studies, noted with emphasis that there had to be procedures for collecting opinions satisfactory enough for people to comprehend, especially in light of the fulfillment of Roh’s promise to go through with a national consensus, as well as the gravity of the matter.

He was also concerned that there might be possibility of another serious split in national opinion if the move was promoted as a one-sided initiative by the government as it is as present.

Thirty-five lawmakers from the Gyeongsang region of the Grand National Party, including Rep. Lee Bang-ho, started to collect signatures supporting the promotion of the national referendum. They decided to collect signatures from the lawmakers of the ruling party as well as those of the GNP to submit to the speaker of the National Assembly.

However, President Roh made his opinion of rejection to the referendum clear at the meeting for chiefs of financial news department on June 11, saying, “I have no intention of bring the relocation matter of administrative capital to national referendum. Referendum has no legal grounds about that.” Uri Party vice spokesman Kim Hyung-shik said, “Relocation of the new administrative capital is transferring only government functions, leaving the economic, social, cultural, educational functions of Seoul as they are, so the request for a national referendum on the reasons for the transfer of the capital is obstinate.”



Sung-Won Park Myoung-Gun Lee swpark@donga.com gun43@donga.com