Lee urges prudence over Sejong City

President Lee Myung-bak yesterday urged prudence in dealing with the controversial plan to build a new administrative city.

Lee broke his long silence over the issue during a meeting with ruling Grand National Party leader Chung Mong-joon.

"We should give careful consideration to the Sejong City matter, so the party needs to discuss it sufficiently," Lee was quoted as saying by GNP spokesman Cho Hae-jin.

Lee remained persistently low-key during the dispute which has stirred political circles for months and recently is triggering a rift in the ruling camp.

Prime Minister Chung Un-chan is leading a drive to revise the 2005 plan to build a new administrative city, citing possible damage to government efficiency and a lack of measures taken to ensure its self-sufficiency.

The current plan calls for the relocation of nine ministries and four agencies along with a number of public organizations to the new city in South Chungcheong Province by 2014.



Opposition parties are against revising the plan. Former GNP leader Park Geun-hye and her followers joined the opposition, calling for the government to proceed with the original plan.

During the meeting, the GNP leader said the party will form a special body to handle the issue.

He indicated the party favors amendment, saying the city project should be "of practical help to the Chungcheong people and contribute to national development."

Lee called on the party to prevent the issue from widening the chasm in the ruling camp and escalating tensions with the opposition.

Lee delivered the same message in his budget address to the National Assembly though he did not directly mention the issue.

"I will resolve misunderstandings and conflicts arising in carrying out policies one by one through dialogue," said the presidential address read by Prime Minister Chung.

The meeting between the president and the GNP leader came ahead of a parliamentary policy debate set to begin Thursday, in which Sejong will top the agenda.

The government is expected to discuss its position on the matter during today`s Cabinet meeting.

The Prime Minister`s Office plans to launch an advisory group and government taskforce next week to work out alternative plans.

During a visit to Chungcheong last week, the prime minister hinted that the government is considering an industrial and educational city to substitute for the administrative town plan.

Ruling party lawmakers yesterday proposed a referendum to determine the issue.

Cha Myung-jin said the issue should be determined by the people, not to be left to perennially squabbling political circles.

Park`s key aide yesterday resigned from the post of first deputy secretary general in protest of the GNP mainstreamers` move to revise the Sejong plan.

Park late last month demanded the government stick to the original plan, saying a revision would hurt public trust in the party.

The GNP endorsed the Sejong City law in 2005 when she was at the party`s helm, and recommitted to the plan during the 2007 presidential campaign.

Opposition parties have criticized the president for not clarifying his position over the crucial issue.

The president will unveil his views at the appropriate time, Lee`s press chief Lee Dong-kwan told reporters.

His aides said he will later consider a new proposal currently being prepared by the Prime Minister`s Office.

Many believe that the revision proposal originated from Cheong Wa Dae.

He recently told senior aides that the administrative city plan is not in the nation`s best interests and that for a city to develop, it should host businesses, not government agencies, sources said.

(jjhwang@heraldm.com)



By Hwang Jang-jin