South Korea says it will relocate capital

SEOUL -- South Korea confirmed yesterday a controversial plan to move the future seat of government to two scenic rural counties from crowded Seoul, brushing aside fierce opposition to the $45 billion plan.

President Roh Moo-hyun made relocating the capital a key pledge in his 2002 election campaign, arguing it would allow balanced development in the country, which has Asia's third-largest economy.

A shift away from Seoul, home to over 10 million people and a Korean capital since the 14th century, still faces legal obstacles in the form of a constitutional appeal brought by civic groups opposed to a plan they regard as ill thought out and wasteful.

Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan said at a news conference that a committee comprising government and private sector officials had confirmed its earlier choice of a site straddling parts of Yongi and Kongju counties. The original plan to move the capital was approved by parliament last year.

Lee said the 17,540-acre site to the west of the city of Taejon offered superior transport and environmental conditions.

The prime minister said land purchases would begin next year and construction was scheduled to start in 2007, with work due to be completed by 2012.

Local leaders and residents of the lush farmland of Yongi and Kongju largely favor the selection of their regions, enticed by the development and soaring property prices the move would bring.

The opposition Grand National Party said in a statement the plan should be reconsidered.

''Do not try to confront the will of the people," GNP spokesman Yim Tae-hee said. Senior members of the party said at a news conference that they consider the announcement void and will try to block it in parliament by boycotting budget deliberations.

Seoul's city council said in a statement that yesterday's announcement amounted to ''a death knell" for the city and was opposed by the majority of South Koreans.

It also said the government should have waited for a ruling from the Constitutional Court, which technically has until January to rule on the appeal to block the project.

Seoul is also the cultural, educational, business, and financial capital of South Korea, a country the size of Belgium with a population of 48 million people.