Roh wants government out of Seoul

Roh Moo-hyun, the presidential candidate of the Millennium Democratic Party, said Monday that if elected he would move parts of the government to the Chungcheong provinces south of Seoul. His aim, he said, is to fight the concentration of development in Seoul and Gyeonggi province and spur provincial economies.

"I will start by moving the Blue House and central government agencies," he said, speaking at the party's ceremony to launch an election campaign committee. An official on the MDP election committee said that Daejeon is the strongest candidate for the new capital. Cheonan and Chungju in Chungcheong provinces are also being discussed as possibilities.

Observers saw the move as a bid for votes in the Chungcheong provinces, formerly a stronghold of the right-wing Liberal Democrats. Mr. Roh has pledged on several occasions to disperse business and government offices, but has not yet addressed the questions of cost and administrative efficiency.

The candidate said last week in an address to party members in Busan that he envisioned a gradual dispersal of government functions away from Seoul in a process lasting about 20 years.

"I will pursue policies redistributing wealth and the annual 7 percent economic growth so that 70 percent of the people will become middle class within five years," Mr. Roh said Monday. "I will uproot real estate speculation that deprives the middle class of their dreams of owning a home."

Mr. Roh appointed two National Assemblymen, Chough Soon-hyung and Chung Dong-young, as new co-chairs of his election committee. He earlier named Chyung Dai-chul one of the heads of the committee.

by Choi Hoon, Kang Min-seok