Constitutional Petition against Capital Relocation to Be Filed Today

Representatives for the constitutional petition against capital relocation announced yesterday they would file a petition with the Constitutional Court at 10:30 this morning asking it to review whether the special law on capital relocation is constitutionally acceptable and also asking for an injunction against the Presidential Committee on Administrative Capital Relocation.

One of the representatives, lawyer Lee Seok-yeon, said, “Through discussion among the representatives, we decided to apply for an injunction to suspend the operation of the Committee On Capital Relocation, instead of demanding suspension of the special law’s effect, which was our former decision.”

Lee said they decided to apply for an injunction until the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the special law is issued, a measure they thought to be less pressure for the Constitutional Court while having a similar effect.

If the representatives’ request is accepted, the committee’s operations, including choosing the site for new capital, will be suspended.

In the constitutional petition of December 2000 against the regulation on applying for a state law examination, which banned four-time applicants for applying for the examination for four years, the Constitutional Court accepted the applicants’ demand for suspension of the law so they could enter the examination, until final rules could be made.

The representative group and another five representatives for petitioners are to hold a press conference after filing its petition this morning.

The representatives revealed that a total of 169 people signed the petition, including 50 members of the Seoul City Council, professors, public officers and college students.

The representative group included Lee, Kim Moon-hee, Lee Young-mo and former justice of the Constitutional Court.

Soo-Hyung Lee sooh@donga.com