Government Announces Relocation Sites for 177 Public Institutions

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), the largest public corporation in South Korea, will be relocated to Gwangju; the Korea National Housing Corporation will be relocated to Gyeongnam Province; the Korea Land Corporation will be relocated to Jeonbuk Province; the Korea Highway Corporation will be relocated to Gyeongbuk Province; and the Korea Gas Corporation will be relocated to Daegu according to a government decision.

In addition, it was confirmed that the Korea National Oil Corporation, the Korea Agricultural & Rural Infrastructure Corporation, and both the Korea National Tourism Organism and the Korea Resources Corporation will be moved to Ulsan, Jeonnam Province, and Gangwon Province, respectively.

Minister of Construction and Transportation Choo Byung-jik and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development Seong Gyeong-ryung reported on a measure to relocate 177 public institutions to local areas such as the above to President Roh Moo-hyun on June 22.

The government is scheduled to announce this plan officially through high-ranking policy makers’ discussions among the party, the government, and Cheong Wa Dae, and report in a cabinet meeting on June 24.

Based on this measure, the government is also planning to launch a project to relocate public institutions to local areas in earnest staring in July.

However, in some local governments, residents who are dissatisfied with the government’s final decision are expected to express their opposition and to insist that heads of local governments take responsibility for this matter.

The KEPCO relocation, which has drawn the most attention from the public, was concluded to be relocated to Gwangju as prearranged, along with its two subsidiary companies, the Korea Plant Service and Engineering Co. and the Korea Power Exchange.

It was reported that even if Gwangju and Ulsan had vied keenly with each other for attracting KEPCO, the government finally confirmed Gwangju as an area for relocating the KEPCO by taking into account the extent of its development, the first standard for selecting areas.

The government decided to relocate the Korea National Oil Corporation and the Korea Energy Management Corporation, which are linked with its industries, and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and the Korea Labor Welfare, which are related with labor and welfare affairs, to Ulsan, which took a backseat to Gwangju in attracting KEPCO.

Some institutions, including the Korea Gas Corporation and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning, will be moved to Daegu.

Busan will house lots of institutions, including the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, the Korea Asset Management Corporation, and the Korean Film Council, which are associated with maritime affairs and fisheries, finance, and films, respectively.

Some institutions, including the Korea National Tourism Organism, the Korea Resources Corporation, the Korea Coal Corporation, which are related with resources development, and the National Health Insurance Corporation, which is related to the public’s health and life, will be relocated to Gangwon Province.

Chungbuk Province succeeded in attracting information technology (IT) related-

institutions such as the Korea Information Strategy Development Institute and the Korea

Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion, and institutions related with human

resources development, such as the Korea Labor Education Institute and the Korea

Consumer Protection Board.

In addition, it was confirmed that the Korea Land Corporation, the National Institute of

Agricultural Science and Technology, and the National Institute of Agricultural

Biotechnology will be moved to Jeonbuk Province; the Korea Agricultural & Rural

Infrastructure Corporation and the National Computerization Agency to Jeonnam

Province; the Korea Highway Corporation and the National Veterinary Research &

Quarantine Service to Gyeongbuk Province; the Korea National Housing Corporation and the Small Business Corporation to Gyeongnam Province; and the Korea Foundation

and the National Tax Officials Training Institute to Jeju Island.

The government and the Public Association of the Korean Confederation of Trade

Unions concluded an agreement between labor and the government that the

government and the labor circles should cooperate with each other for the relocation of

public institutions to local areas in the Gwacheon Government Complex on June 23.

In this agreement, the two sides reached an agreement that the costs for the relocation of public institutions to local areas should be prepared through purchasing institutions’ properties, and if an additional cost is required, the government should support it.

Jae-Seong Hwang Kang-Myoung Chang jsonhng@donga.com tesomiom@donga.com