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Political rifts deepen over plan to relocate Oceans Ministry to Busan

Published: 02 Jul. 2025, 00:04 Updated: 02 Jul. 2025, 09:17

Kim Bang-hyun

The author is a Daejeon Bureau Chief of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The proposed relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries from Sejong to Busan has emerged as a key political issue in Korea’s Chungcheong region. The controversy reignited after President Lee Jae Myung, just two days after taking office, ordered a swift review of the move. On June 24, during a cabinet meeting, he instructed his administration to explore plans to complete the relocation by the end of the year. A day earlier, he nominated Jeon Jae-soo, a Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker from Busan, as the next oceans minister.

Busan citizens welcome President Lee Jae Myung's pledge to relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan, as he makes a campaign speech as a presidential candidate on May 14. [NEWS1]

The sequence of events has fueled speculation that the Lee administration is attempting to fast-track the move ahead of next year’s local elections, where support in Busan could be pivotal.

However, critics say the relocation raises serious concerns. The plan contradicts the long-term vision of establishing Sejong as Korea’s administrative capital — a project that has involved the systematic transfer of key ministries from Seoul to Sejong over the past two decades. During his presidential campaign, Lee also pledged to strengthen Sejong’s status as the country’s administrative hub by relocating the National Assembly and the presidential office there.

Observers argue that pushing ahead with the Oceans Ministry relocation without sufficient legal and public deliberation could set a problematic precedent. The transfer of central government functions to Sejong was carried out under the Special Act on the Construction of Multifunctional Administrative City. A similar legal basis may be required for any reverse move.

The issue of administrative efficiency has also come into focus. Few major policies are implemented by a single ministry alone. Oceans and fisheries policy, for instance, requires coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Dispersing ministries across distant cities could weaken interagency cooperation and complicate policy execution.

There are practical concerns as well. While the distance between Seoul and Sejong is approximately 140 kilometers (87 miles), Sejong and Busan are about twice as far — 280 kilometers. If Oceans Ministry officials are based in Busan, routine meetings with the National Assembly could require overnight stays in Seoul. Critics worry that relocating one ministry could open the door to other ministries seeking to leave Sejong, undermining the city's role as an administrative center.

Political reactions to the plan have been split. The conservative People Power Party (PPP) has voiced fierce opposition. Lawmakers from the Chungcheong region — including Sung Il-jong, Kang Seung-kyu and Jang Dong-hyuk — held a press conference to condemn the move. “Relocating the Oceans Ministry to Busan means abandoning the administrative capital,” they said, accusing the DP of using the region for election purposes. The PPP’s Daejeon chapter held a rally opposing the relocation on June 16.

Meanwhile, responses from within the ruling camp have been more measured, or even supportive. Rep. Bok Ki-wang, a DP lawmaker from Asan, South Chungcheong, questioned the assumption that all central ministries must be clustered in Sejong. “Is it really necessary for every government office to be concentrated in one city?” he asked.

Roof area of the Sejong Government Complex is seen in a photo taken in May 2019. [NEWS1]

Some lawmakers from Sejong itself have echoed that sentiment. DP lawmaker Kim Young-hyun, who represents the city, downplayed the idea of exclusive ownership. “If we try to hold onto everything, we’ll end up hurting ourselves,” he said. “It’s time to move away from the thinking that only Sejong can have ministries.”

The irony has not been lost on critics. The establishment of Sejong as the administrative capital was a vision championed by the late President Roh Moo-hyun — a legacy the DP has long vowed to uphold. The current debate over dismantling that vision from within the party has stirred political tension and exposed fractures within the ruling bloc.

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