Will the Public Decide the Course of the Sejong City Project?

President Lee Myung-bak has raised speculation over whether he will push the revision of the Sejong City project or stick to the original plan if the people desire.

At a breakfast meeting with members of the ruling Grand National Party’s supreme council yesterday, he said, “We must do our best to persuade the people and ask for their understanding. If this doesn’t work, then there is no other option.”

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said, “The stress is on that we must do our best to persuade the people and ask them to understand us.”

This could mean President Lee is firm in pushing for a revision of the Sejong City plan as he said in the live TV program “Dialogue with the President,” Friday, when he said, “Shouldn’t we do this with a sense of calling even if this means I have to be a little inconvenient and make a political sacrifice?”

Yet the president’s comment “…then there is no other option” is gaining attention. Some interpret this as his willingness to give up the revision if the public disagrees with it, like he did with his grand cross-canal proposal.

A participant of the program said, “President Lee seemed calm and relaxed as he mentioned Sejong City. I felt he wanted to leave the decision up to the people instead of pushing for the plan.”

President Lee, however, is known to have strong confidence in the soon-to-be-released revision plan for Sejong City. He apparently believes that the people can clearly decide which plan will prove more helpful to the development of the Chungcheong provinces if they compare the original with the revision.

The implication could be that if the people choose the original after consideration, he believes there is no other option than to accept their choice.

A government official supported this idea, saying, "If the revised version is rejected, we will apply the original."

koh@donga.com