SEOUL, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The Roh Moo-hyun government of South Korea has finalized its plan to relocate its capital away from Seoul, a move it considers vital for the country's future.
Roh believes capital relocation is necessary to reduce Seoul's overcrowding and encourage balanced development of the country, which has long been tainted by deep-seated regional rivalry.
His ambitious project, however, has met with mounting protests from opposition parties and many residents of Seoul, with opinion polls showing a majority of the public remains opposed to the capital move.
Critics raise doubts about the efficiency and feasibility of the multibillion-dollar project, saying the hastily made scheme has failed to win taxpayers' support at a time when the economy remains in a prolonged economic slump.
The massive project also faces legal obstacles because it is the subject of a constitutional decision as civic groups have launched a constitutional appeal against the new capital plan.
The government took one step further toward moving the capital on Wednesday with an announcement that it had finally chosen a rural area, 100 miles south of Seoul, as the site for its new seat of government.
In an apparent bid to demonstrate Roh's determination to push for the project, his close aide and the country's No. 2 man, Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan, appeared before journalists to announce the new seat of government.
"We finally selected the Yeongi-Gongju area for the new administrative capital site," Lee said at a press conference broadcast live across the country.
"The selected region has a good natural environment and transportation infrastructure," he said. "Its geographical location at the center of the country is expected to help promote balanced regional development," Lee said.
The rural region, 28.5 square miles in size, would become "Washington of South Korea" with a population of around 500,000 and 73 key administrative offices, including the presidential house, by 2014, Lee said.
Other organizations, such as the National Assembly and the Supreme Court, will decide whether to move or not. Construction of the new capital will begin in 2007 and be completed in 2030.
Roh has vowed to move the central government out of Seoul to break up the concentration of power and wealth around the metropolitan area with a population of 20 million, calling it "a project on which the future of the government and country relies."
"The move is designed to reduce Seoul's overcrowding and economic dominance over the rest of South Korea," said Kim An-je, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Administrative Capital Relocation. The capital relocation will relieve congestion and ease regional rivalries, will ease Seoul's horrendous traffic and high housing costs and reduce its stranglehold on the economy, he said.
"About 47 percent of South Korea's population lives on less than 12 percent of the territory. We cannot develop our economy or upgrade our living standard with that deformity," he said.
On Tuesday, Roh Moo-hyun again pledged to press ahead with the capital relocation plan, saying he would focus on long-term national strategies while entrusting the prime minister with all powers on routine state affairs.
The capital relocation plan was one of Roh's pledges during the 2002 presidential campaign, which led nearby residents to deliver swing votes to Roh who beat an opposition candidate by a razor-thin margin.
Some security analysts support the southward capital relocation because Seoul is just 25 miles from the heavily fortified border with North Korea, which has deployed 70 percent of its 1.1-million-strong military near the near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
The communist neighbor is suspected of having some 12,000 artillery pieces, including 500 long-range weapons, concealed in thousands of mountain tunnels near the border. In the first hours of a war, North Korea could rain between 300,000 and 500,000 artillery shells onto Seoul, according to defense officials. An artillery shell can reach Seoul in less than two minutes.
But many in Seoul and the opposition have blasted the plan as wasteful and ill considered. More than 10,000 people gathered in front of City Hall to protest the relocation last month. Seoul, which means "capital" in Korean, has been the country's capital since the 14th century. It is also the cultural, educational, business and financial center of South Korea.
The main opposition Grand National Party claims the government is recklessly pushing what it says is an unrealistic plan without popular support. A media survey showed that more than half the public is opposed to the plan, citing its high costs compared with its expected effects.
"The government's unilateral announcement of the new capital site is invalid," said Lee Hahn-koo, the GNP's chief policy coordinator. "The capital move without the concession from the people will not be tolerated."
The party also raise question over how to bankroll the mammoth project. The capital transfer is estimated to cost as much as 45.6 trillion won ($38.8 billion), according to the government committee planning the relocation.
But critics fear the cost will be double or even triple, posing a serious burden on the economy, which is at the risk of slipping into deeper recession. The party had originally supported the plan, but dropped its support of the costly project and demanded the government reconsider.
Many analysts call for a national referendum on the capital move plan. "The capital relocation plan is a huge project that requires hefty costs and 20 years of constructions during which four new president are elected," said Choi Sang-cheol, a professor at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Seoul National University.
"A national referendum is necessary for a consistent push for the project, administration after administration," he said.
