More New Cities Will Be Established

The government has set up a plan to build 10-20 new cities with a scale of 20,000 population each across the country, excluding the metropolitan and Choongchung areas, by the end of 2012.

Six to ten public organizations will be relocated to each city, and related research institutes, companies, residences and educational facilities will be constructed as well.

Regarding the plan, some experts analyzed, “It is not clear whether companies will really join the new cities. Moreover, fund raising problems will make it more difficult to realize their relocation.”

Vice Minister for Construction and Transportation Choi Jae-duck said yesterday, “We plan to put together public organizations by their function, and then distribute them to target cities and provinces.” He added, “The areas in which public organizations will move will be developed as a ‘city of futuristic innovation,’ where around 20,000 people will be living in.”

Choi also said that 10-20 ‘futuristic cities’ are expected to be located in one or two areas of ten provinces and large cities, except for metropolitan cities such as Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and the Daejon and Choongchung area where a new administrative capital will be established.

Specific locations or names of public organizations to be located in the “futuristic innovative city” will be finally designated in December of this year.

“These futuristic cities will be modeled similarly on Kwachon city in Gyeonggi province where the Government Complex is placed, and Osong city in North Choongchung province where the Korea Food and Drug Administration is planning to move to,” said the vice-minister. “It is highly possible to locate them within one-hour’s distance by transportation from the new administrative capital.”

Meanwhile, a senior researcher of the Samsung Economic Research Institute, Park Jae-ryong, said it is doubtful whether companies and institutes will move to new cities to follow some public organizations, since, “even the existing cities with fine infrastructure have difficulties in attracting companies.” He pointed out that the “city of futuristic innovation” is nothing but administrative opportunism from the government.

Kwang-Hyun Kim Eun-Woo Lee kkh@donga.com ibra@donga.com