P.M. Chung gives April deadline for Sejong City bill

Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said yesterday he would consider going back to the original plan to relocate government ministries to Sejong City if the revised bill does not pass the National Assembly by April.

Chung, who has spearheaded efforts to scrap the administrative town project, said a delay in revising the Sejong City law would blow the chances for corporate investment.

The prime minister said during a parliamentary interpellation session yesterday that he would "consider" an opposition lawmaker`s request to push for the original plan should the revised bill fail to pass by April.

The government unveiled plans last month to develop Sejong into a hub of education, science and business, instead of an administrative town, and is set to present a revised bill to the National Assembly "as soon as it is ready," according to Chung.

Chung`s remarks came while the ruling Grand National Party was split over when to discuss the bill - as soon as possible or after the local elections in June.



All opposition parties, a faction within the ruling party and a majority of Chungcheong residents are against the new scheme.

Also yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak paid his first visit to the Chungcheong region since the government announced the alternative blueprint for Sejong City in January.

The official purpose of Lee`s visit was to attend a policy report session of the provincial government of North Chungcheong, but he also sought to appease concerns over the new Sejong plan.

People of North Chungcheong fear that a concentration of government support in Sejong, South Chungcheong Province, would be disadvantageous to their province.

"North Chungcheong will be the biggest beneficiary if Sejong City is designated as the center of a science business belt (under the alternative plan)," the president was quoted as saying after the governor`s report by his spokesperson Kim Eun-hye.

Lee also expressed support for North Chungcheong`s plan to have the Ochang-Osong region designated as free economic zone.

"I think regional development can`t be achieved if everything is thought of in terms of political calculations and judgments," he said during a photo session while meeting with local government officials, who briefed the president on North Chungcheong`s vision for regional growth.

Lee also reaffirmed his will to develop the Cheongju International Airport as a main gateway to the country`s central area, Kim added in a press briefing.

Cheong Wa Dae made clear on Monday that it has no intention to seek a national referendum on the Sejong City revision plan, saying the government will not give up efforts to broaden public support for it.

But several ruling party lawmakers including Rep. Lee Gun-hyun and Rep. Shin Young-soo called for holding a national referendum on Sejong during the June 2 local elections.

(sophie@heraldm.com)



By Kim So-hyun