Lee says he won’t duck Sejong City

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Lee says he won’t duck Sejong City

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Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, right, faces attacks by opposition party lawmakers yesterday at the National Assembly as he tried to read a budget address on behalf of President Lee Myung-bak. [YONHAP]

As the political quagmire over the Sejong City project rapidly deepened throughout yesterday, the Blue House said President Lee Myung-bak has no intention of hiding from the issue that has created a rift even among the Grand Nationals.

Starting with a breakfast meeting between President Lee and Grand National Party Chairman Chung Mong-joon, the project of relocating many of the nation’s administrative offices to the newly planned Sejong City in South Chungcheong became the subject of attention.

Chung told Lee that ways to provide support to the Chungcheong provinces through the Sejong City project should be researched, as well as ways that the project can best serve the national interest. “To play an active role, it is necessary to establish an in-house organ of the Grand National Party for these important national tasks,” Chung was quoted as saying by GNP spokesman Cho Hae-jin.

President Lee replied to Chung that the matter must be carefully and seriously contemplated. “It is necessary for the party to give the matter careful consideration,” President Lee was quoted as saying. Although Lee only spoke about the principle, it was a rare presidential remark on the sensitive issue.

Following the Lee-Chung meeting, the rift over the project between pro-Lee and pro-Park Geun-hye lawmakers of the GNP began widening. Park, a former Lee rival during the party’s presidential primary, has made clear her opposition to modifying the plan, demanding that it proceed as initially conceived.

Begun as an election pledge of then-presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun of the Democratic Party in 2002, a bill to relocate government offices to South Chungcheong was passed in 2005 when Park headed the then-opposition GNP.

Gong Sung-jin, a senior GNP lawmaker who is known as a pro-Lee faction member, said lawmakers should think about holding a referendum over the project, because dividing the functions of the country’s capital city by relocating a large number of key government offices is a matter of grave importance.

In contrast, pro-Park lawmakers said they oppose any plan to revise Sejong City. Representative Lee Sung-hun, a pro-Park lawmaker, resigned as GNP deputy secretary general around 9 a.m. in protest of the party’s move to revise the construction plan. “Suddenly changing the party’s position on the Sejong City plan is an action infringing upon democracy,” Lee said.

While the Grand Nationals were split over the issue, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan faced attacks by opposition party lawmakers at the National Assembly as he tried to read a budget address on behalf of President Lee. Chung has made known his position that the administrative city plan should be modified, a stance that has angered Chungcheong-based lawmakers.

As Chung began the address around 10:15 a.m., several lawmakers of the Chungcheong-based Liberty Forward Party tried to stop him, demanding that they be given the opportunity to speak about their positions first.

The request, however, was rejected, and Chung went ahead and read the speech while some opposition lawmakers surrounded him.


LFP lawmaker Lee Jin-sam, who represents Buyeo, South Chungcheong, held on to Chung’s arm in an attempt to drag the prime minister from the stage. Brawls erupted between some 20 lawmakers as some Grand Nationals rushed to protect Chung.

As the prime minister continued reading, all Liberty Forward Party lawmakers left the chamber while Democratic Labor Party lawmakers held signboards, saying, “Keep the promise.”

Following the mayhem, broadcast live nationwide, Chung finished the address, during which he stressed the importance of the legislature’s cooperation for next year’s budget because its role in the economic recovery is still crucial.

“Total expenditures in next year’s budget will amount to 291.8 trillion won [$246.5 billion]. It is a 2.5 percent increase from the budget for 2009. Next year will see another budget deficit. That is inevitable to help stabilize ordinary people’s lives and revive the economy,” he said.

Conspicuously absent from the speech was any mention of the Sejong City project, though the controversial four major river program was emphasized.

While the Grand National Party said the budget speech appropriately covered key issues, opposition parties condemned the Lee administration.

“The speech blamed outside factors for the economic crisis and forced the ordinary citizens and small companies to share more agony while promoting the Four River Project, which most of the nation opposes,” said Representative Ooh Che-chang, a spokesman for the Democratic Party.

The 17 Liberty Forward Party lawmakers who had boycotted the talk said the president has failed to make public his position on the Sejong City issue, and they had no reason to stay and listen. “We have demanded that President Lee make clear his stance, but he didn’t,” said Ryu Keun-chan, LFP floor leader. “It’s clearly an insult to the people of Chungcheong.”

The Blue House tried to calm the situation in the afternoon.

“I want to stress once again that the Blue House and the president have no intention of dodging the Sejong City issue,” said senior spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.


By Ser Myo-ja [myoja@joongang.co.kr]

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