Capital Relocation Decision Process Is Too Fast

The Presidential Committee on Administrative Capital Relocation decided to announce the evaluation results of the four capital relocation candidate sites on July 1.

The Committee revealed on the June 17 that “we have tentatively decided to have the fourth meeting in the afternoon on July 1,” adding, “After that meeting, we are going to announce the site evaluation results.”

The committee will then finalize the new capital site in August through a public hearing.

The four candidate sites are Umsung-ChinChon County in North Chungchong Province; Chonan, Yongi County; Kongju City (Janggi); and Kongju (Keryong)-Nonsan City in South Chungchong Province.

Lee Chun-hee, the vice chairman of the committee, said, “In July, when we release each candidate site’s evaluation score, you will find a score for each category and also an overall score. The one which gets the highest score will probably have the most potential [to be a final capital location].”

The committee formed “the Advisory Committee for the Administrative Capital” chaired by Kang Yong-shik, the honorary president of Hanbat University, on the same day. The advisory committee consists of 90 experts from various fields.

However, many point out that the government is pushing this crucial and controversial national matter too fast, given the recent rapid progress on relocation.

On the same day, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation held a central urban planning committee meeting and included Umsung and Chinchon counties as zones requiring authorization for land transactions.

Kwang-Hyun Kim kkh@donga.com