Election candidates reignite calls to move presidential office, National Assembly to Sejong

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Election candidates reignite calls to move presidential office, National Assembly to Sejong

Published: 13 Apr. 2025, 16:52 Updated: 13 Apr. 2025, 21:15

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Sejong City in 2021 [JOONGANG ILBO]

The debate over relocating the presidential office to Sejong City has resurfaced ahead of the presidential election, with both legislative action and campaign pledges driving renewed attention.

Lawmakers in the Democratic Party (DP) are reportedly preparing legislation that would move the presidential office and the main National Assembly building, currently in western Seoul, to Sejong, while multiple presidential hopefuls have declared support for the relocation.

According to officials in Sejong and various political parties, DP lawmakers, including Kang Jun-hyeon and Bok Ki-wang, are writing up a new version of the so-called Special Act on the Construction of a New Administrative Capital.

The proposed legislation would legally mandate the relocation of both the presidential office and the National Assembly’s main chamber to Sejong. Kang’s office stated that the bill could be introduced as early as mid-April.

Although a similar law was passed in 2004, it was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Kang’s aides say they are exploring ways to proceed without a constitutional amendment.

New capital, new beginning

Among the presidential candidates backing the move are Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon and Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok.

“We must get away from the unlawful den of rebellion that is Yongsan as soon as possible,” said Kim in February on his YouTube channel, referring to the current presidential office set up by former president Yoon Suk Yeol.

The presidential office in Yongsan on April 4 [JOONGANG ILBO]

In mid-March, Lee visited Daejeon and stated, “Let’s build a state-of-the-art compound that unites the functions of the Blue House and the National Assembly, and make Sejong a space for national unity.”

Sejong Mayor Choi Min-ho also renewed his call for the presidential office to be relocated, stating during a press briefing on Thursday, “The question of where the presidential office is located is not simply about where to place a desk — it is directly tied to the question over which city functions as the capital.”

“There may be opposition, but this is an issue that must be decided through national consensus from a grand, strategic perspective," added Choi.

The Sejong City Council echoed the mayor’s call, stating, “Sejong already houses the core government ministries capable of holding Cabinet meetings. But the presidential office remains in Seoul, creating administrative inefficiencies and deepening capital-region concentration.”

Investors moving quickly

Speculation around the issue has stirred activity in the Sejong real estate market.

Sejong’s weekly price change rate moved from declines to flat readings over March — from minus 0.07 percent on March 10 to 0 percent by March 31, according to weekly apartment market data from KB Real Estate.

The Blue House grounds filled with visitors on April 9 in central Seoul [NEWS1]

Big data platform Asil reported that apartment transactions in Sejong increased from 372 in February to 684 in March, exceeding even the volume recorded in March of the previous year, which was 386.

In one notable transaction, a 98-square-meter (1,055-square-foot) unit in Saeddeum Village complex was sold for 910 million won ($638,000) on March 20 — up 280 million won from the 630 million won recorded in February.

The National Agency for Administrative City Construction (NAACC) currently aims to complete the Sejong presidential office by 2027. The proposed site is a 150,000-square-meter (37-acre) parcel in the S-1 living area of Sejong-dong, where the National Assembly's Sejong branch is also being planned. The project is estimated to cost 384.6 billion won. An international design competition is expected to be held in the first half of this year.

Even if completed on schedule, the next president may not be able to use the office immediately. An NAACC official noted that the timeline remains “fluid, depending on political conditions.”

The National Assembly building in Yeouido, western Seoul [JOONGANG ILBO]

For real, this time?

Still, skepticism remains.

“While we welcome the renewed momentum for a Sejong presidential office, the people of the Chungcheong region have grown cynical, seeing the capital relocation used as a political tool every election season," a representative from the Civil Coalition for Completing the Administrative Capital said.

"Without bold, concrete measures, the promises will lack credibility.”

In the 2022 presidential race, then-candidate Yoon pledged to “make Sejong the real capital,” including commitments to hold Cabinet meetings there biweekly and to establish a secondary presidential office. Although he unveiled a three-stage plan for the office relocation, none of it materialized before his impeachment.

The government complex building in central Seoul on Dec. 30, 2024 [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Moon Jae-in administration also promised to strengthen Sejong’s role as an administrative capital, but only held four Cabinet meetings there during its term.

Conservative figures such as former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo are advocating for a return to the Blue House.

“The Yongsan office has become a symbol of disconnection and superstition,” Hong said. “We need to go back to the Blue House.”

Alongside the planned presidential office, the National Assembly’s Sejong branch is slated to be completed by 2028. The facility will span 631,000 square meters in the same S-1 living area — twice the size of the legislature’s current compound in Yeouido, western Seoul. The estimated cost is 3.6 trillion won, including 667.6 billion won for land acquisition, 2.67 trillion won for construction and 184.4 billion won for design.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY KIM BANG-HYUN [[email protected]]