Alternative Plan Needed to Revive the Chungcheong Economy

“The government should quickly lay out a blueprint that shows whether there will be an arrival of a smaller scale administrative organization rather than an administrative capital, or the formation of a new city,” said Im Tae-sun of Yeongi County, South Chungcheong Province.

“Did we ask to move the capital here? It was them (politicians) who shook up this area by saying it themselves,” said Im Jae-geung, the head of Naseong village of Nam-myeon, Yeongi County.

One day after the ruling of unconstitutionality on a “special law for construction of the new administrative capital,” inhabitants of Yeongi and Gongju of South Chungcheong Province, the expected place for the new capital, urged the government on October 22, saying, “The government should quickly prepare a countermeasure.”

In Jungchon village, Nam-myeon, Yeongi County, where new real estate agents had arisen one after another, almost all real estate agencies were closed and crowded coffee shops were empty. Contrasting placards such as “No New Capital” and “Welcome the New Capital” disappeared.

An Alternative Plan in Need—

The three heads of Daejeon City and the Chungcheong provinces held a council meeting for the Chungcheong area’s administration at the Yuseong Tourist Hotel in Daejeon this morning and urged the government, “The five million inhabitants of Chungcheong cannot hide their embarrassment and shock as they greatly expected the construction of the new administrative capital.”

Experts are laying out methods such as the formation of a new administrative town instead of the relocation of the capital or facilitating a business city in this area.

Jang Seong-su, the head of the Korea Housing Institute, said, “The government should relocate some government agencies and their sub-organizations to Yeongi and Gongju and form a business city through various enticements.”

A method of giving tax benefits for a limited period to businesses with newly established factories and other facilities was also presented. One emerging claim from real estate circles is that the government should reduce the tax burden by adjusting the official land price to the price set before the end of 2002 when the pledge of capital relocation was made.

We Were Quiet—

At the entrance of a Nam-myeon office in Yeongi County stood a sign that stated “Expected Site for the New Administrative Capital.” There were busy tractors abound in front of it as the area enters its harvest season.

Im Yeong-dal, an inhabitant of Nam-myeon, said, “The government made a fool of its people. There are even those who call this state an anarchy.”

Many inhabitants not only felt despondency but also were damaged directly.

Im Jae-deok, a chief director of a Nam-myeon office, said, “There are many people who bought nearby farmland or cattle sheds in areas such as Buyeo with loans in preparation for land expropriation.”

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) in Nam-myeon announced that its loans increased recently from 40 billion won at the end of last year to 50 billion won.

A Missing Deal and a Blow to the Local Economy—

There was an increase in land prices in the Osong village of Gangyoi-myeon, Cheongwon County in North Chungcheong Province due to the expectation of the capital relocation. Now, there are only voices worrying about a fall in land prices and a missing deal.

Jeong, an inhabitant of the Osong village, couldn’t even continue his interview, while saying, “I only wish for a return of the balance, although I should give up my deposit.”

There have been successive inquiries regarding contract cancellations in areas such as Buyeo County, Seocheon County, and Boryung City.