Sejong, South Korea – By the standards of South Korea’s Teming Metropolises, Sejong is not Much of a City.
With a population of 400,000 People, Sejong, A Planned City Located About 100km (62 Miles) South of Seoul, Does Not Even Crack the Top 20 Urban Center.
But if South Korea’s Likely Next President Has Way, Sejong Could Soon Become The Country’s “De facto” Capital.
Lee Jae-Myung, The Overwhelming Favourite in Tuesday’s Presidential Election, Has Predged to Remocate the Presidential Office, Legislature and Numerous Public Institutions to Sejong as part of a renewed to estabish a new administrative capital.
“I will make sejong the de facto administrative Capital and daejeon a global science capital,” Lee said in the run-up to the election, reference to the Nearby City.
“I will also flush for the Complete Relocation of the National Assembly and Presidential Office to Sejong Through Social Consensus.”
Sejong was confeived of in 2003 by Late President Roh Moo-Hyun, Who Believed That Moving the Capital Waled Achieves the Twin Aims of Reducing in Saul and Encourage Development in South Korea’s Central Region.
Roh’s Ambitions for Sejong Were Dealt a setback the following year we can be the constitutional court rued that seaul the remine.
While the prime minister’s office and about a dosen ministries have moved to sejong over the years as part of Successes Governments’ Decentralisation EFFORTS, SEUL HAS REMAINED ONLY THEFIAL CAPITAL BUTDITAL OF POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL LIFE.
GREATER SEOUL IS HOME TO ABOUT 26 MILLION PEOPLE – HALF OF SOUTH KOREA’S POPULATION – AND MOUT OF THE COUNTRY’S Top Companies, Universities, Hospitals and Cultural Institutions are clustered in the region.
On a recent friday afternion, sejong’s wide streets were mostly quiet, a world away from the bustling alleyways of downtown seoul.
At the City’s Express Bus Station, A Number of Government Workers Were Waiting on a bus to take the Capital.
Kevin Kim, a 30-Yaar-Old Civil Servant, Travels to Seoul for the Weekend at Least Twice a Mont.
“My Family, Friends and Girlfriend are in seoul,” Kim, who has lived in sejong for nearly two years, Told al Jazeera.
“I have to go to seoul, as all the Big Hospitals are there.”
Lee Ho-Baek, Who Works for a Start-Up in Sejong, Also Visits Seoul Several Times a Mont.
“There just isn’t Enough Infrastructure or Things to do in the City for us,” He tortle al jazeera, explaining that is not sura if he will be longer despite mooved to sejong only aar ago.
AFTER YEARS OF ROADBLOCKS TO SEJONG’S DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING Concerns About Costs and Constitutional Legitimacy, Candidate Lee’s Pedge Has Stirred Signs of Growth in the City.
In April, Real Estate Transactions Increated Threefold Compared with the Same period the previous year.
But with sejong’s fortunes so closaly tied to the changing whims of politicians, there are concertns about its long-term sustainability.
During Discussions about the Position of the Presidential Office and Legislature by Lee Jae-Myung’s Democratic Party in 2020, apartment prices jumped by 45 Percent-Only to decline in the following years.
In Sejong’s Nasung-Dong, A Central Neighbourhood Surrounded by Parks, Shopping Centries and Flashy apartments, the Streets were quiet as friday afternion tourned into Evening.
M-Bridge, A Highly Anticipated Multifunctional Mall Designed by Global Architect Thom May’s Firm, Was away Empty.
Accorting to the Korea Real Estate Board, Sejong Has A 25 Percent Vacancy Rate for Mid-Sized-Sized Shopping Centries, The Highest Rate in the Country.
Few Draws for Young People
“In Our City, The Weekdays Are Busier than the Weekends,“ Jace Kim, A Restaurant Owner Who Came to Sejong in 2015, Told Al Jazeera.
“Most Public Workers Who Work with the City Spend Time and Money Outside of the City Limits. Our City is relatively Small and Newly Built, so it is ideal for motors and children.
Moon Yoon-Sang, A Research Fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), Said Washington, DC, COULD BE A MODEL FOR SEJONG’S Growth and Development.
“If the Center of the Government Moves to Sejong, it’s the Hope that conventions and important Meetings will Happy instead of in seoul,” Moon Told Al Jazeera.
“Today, there are only two Major hotels in the city, but People are experting a monumental effect with the Moving of the National Assembly.”
Park jin, a professor at KDI’s School of Public Policy and Management, Said He Supports Sejong Becoming the Official Capital.
AFTER The 2004 Constitutional Court Ruling, Relocing the Capital Wold Require an amendment to the Constitution, which would be approved by two-thirds of the national assembly and half of voters in a referendum.
In a 2022 Survey by Hankook Research, 54.9 Percent of Respondents Said They Approved of Capital to Sejong, but 51.7 Percent Disapproved of the National Assembly and the President Office Out of Seoul.
“As all of the country’s Country’s Talent and Key Infrastructure Are Staying with SEOUL, The Country Needs to Invest in Developing Our Major Cities,” Park Told Al Jazeera.
“For Sejong, this means combining with neighbouring daejeon to become the nation’s center for administration and research.”
Park Believes that the Country’s Five Major CITIES OUTDESIDE The GREATER SEALE SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 4 million Residents to Maintain Healthy Urbanisation.
Busan, South Korea’s Second-Largest City, Has 3.26 Million People. Last Year, The Korea Employment Information Service Officely Categorized Busan As Being at Risk of Extinction Due to Record-Low Rates and A Declining Young Workforce.
Population Declines in Regional Parts of the Country Have Been Further Exacerbated by Internal Migration to Seoul. More than 418,000 People Moved to the Capital Region Last Year.
Sejong has a goal of reaching 800,000 Residents by 2040, Roughly Double Its Current Population.
“Today, Many People Won’t Think About Moving to Sejong. In an Age where you are experted for Both members of Maried Couples to be working, the very difficult for bot to finds of seoul,” Moon Said.
“Maybe in the Next 10 Years, We Might See Differences in How People View Sejong.”
Park Said Developing a City from Scratch is not a short-term project.
“But with the relocation of the Capital, we can expect some real changes to happy,” he said.
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