History of Seoul - Relocation of The Capital

Relocation of The Capital

On 11 August 2004, the South Korean Government announced that the capital city would be located in the Gongju area as of 2007, to ease the population pressure on Seoul and to get the government to a safer distance from North Korea. Gongju is approximately 120 kilometers south of Seoul. The Government estimated that the move would probably not be completed before 2012. Although part of the election manifesto, this plan ignited nationwide controversy. On 21 October 2004, the Constitutional Court ruled that mostly based on custom law, the special law for the relocation of the capital is unconstitutional since the relocation is a serious national matter requiring national referendum or revision of the constitution, thus effectively ending the dispute.

In late 2004, however, the South Korean Government announced plans to move most of the national government branches, except the Executive Branch, to Gongju, thus evading violation of the Constitutional Court ruling and still allow Seoul to be a National Capital. Since this plan was supported by the late president Roh Moo-hyun and bitterly opposed by the current ruling party and the current president (Lee Myung-bak – the former mayor of Seoul) the planned move was scaled back dramatically when Lee Myung-bak took office. As of 2011, some preliminary work has begun on construction of new government buildings in the Gonju area. Naturally, no government agencies want to move away from the center of power in Seoul so which agencies will be forced to move is the subject of intense behind-the-scenes debate.