| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Roh rejects poll on moving capital |
| 2004-06-19 |
Friday, 18 June, 2004, 10:25 GMT 11:25 UK South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has rejected calls for a referendum on his plan to move the capital from Seoul to a province further south. Mr Roh admitted he had earlier pledged to hold a vote on the issue, but said it was now unnecessary as parliament had since approved the move. The president plans to build a new administrative capital on one of four, short-listed sites. The move is designed to reduce Seoul’s overcrowding and economic dominance. "It is not desirable to talk about a referendum," said Mr Roh on Friday. To propose one now would be to undermine parliament’s authority, he said. Mr Roh’s remarks came a day after the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) demanded he explain his position on the pledge he made during his campaign for the presidency in December 2000. "How can the people believe the president if he does not abide by his promise?" GNP spokeswoman Jun Yeo-ok told the Korea Herald newspaper. Mr Roh said the opposition was trying to sway him, "not with the viability of the capital relocation itself, but with the election campaign pledge". The GNP has also accused the president of going beyond the scope of the bill, with plans to relocate the National Assembly and the Supreme Court to the new capital. Despite opposition to the plan, Mr Roh appears extremely eager to push it through, saying he would risk the fate of his administration to implement his major election policies. The new capital "is one of the core projects of the participatory government" he told his cabinet, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap. On Tuesday, the president announced the four candidate locations for the new capital - Eumseong/Jincheon in North Chungchong province, and Chonan, Yeongi/Kongju and Kongju/Nonsan, all in South Chungchong province. Opinion polls indicate that South Koreans are divided on Mr Roh’s proposal. More than 20 million people live in Seoul and the surrounding area - two-fifths of the population in just 12% of the land space. The high population density and economic boom in the region "has reached the limit and is a drag on national development", Mr Roh said. But the government estimates that the capital relocation will cost 45 trillion won ($38.8bn), and critics fear the total cost could be more than double this figure. Construction of the new capital, which will house an expected 500,000 people, is scheduled to start in 2007, with relocation due to begin in 2012 and completion in 2030. A total of 85 government agencies are set to move, if the president gets his wish. It would seem that the Koreans are expecting some sort of "disorder near the border." Not too surprising as Kim Jong-Il is headed straight for meltdown city. Getting the seat of government out of range from North Korean artillery (their most abundant field pieces) makes a lot of sense, despite the cost. |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #11 Alaska Paul: That's not a bug, that's a feature! OldSpook: No need to move H&HS, or Education for that matter. Just enforce the actual Constitution - which does not list their functions among the enumerated powers - and disband them altogether (and cut federal taxes by whatever percentage those depts. leech out of the federal budget). Of course, the people there might have trouble finding jobs, since they'd have to, you know, work, but what the hell; lower taxes spur growth, so there would be jobs available if they wanted to get off their butts. Or maybe they could earn a living making the talk show rounds whining about how unfair it is. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-06-19 4:35:11 PM |
| #10 State Dept to Barrow Alaska. No exercise walks for Staties there. They will get eaten by polar bears at certain times of the year. No kidding! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-06-19 1:13:59 PM |
| #9 State Dept to Barrow Alaska. I'm with you on that one, ed. Maybe the cold weather will make them sluggish enough so they can't do as much harm. Such a "punishment assignment" would certainly be fitting for the current crop of incompetents at DoS. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-19 12:54:55 PM |
| #8 The headline writers missed another golden opportunity: "Roh in Row Over Relocation Poll" |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-06-19 11:52:07 AM |
| #7 OS- State Dept would go to where, NY (UN)? Nah, put 'em in Cleveland. ..My home town is the LAST place that DoS would want to go. The greater Cleveland area has one of, if not THE highest concentrations in the country of survivors from the Hungarian Revolution along with refugees from the old WarPac countries. (Not to mention, sadly, a large number of former SS collaborators from the Baltics). Put some of these folks in front of some striped pants idiot who used to sing 'Detente' and 'coexistence', and the guy from State is likely to find himself with a few concrete blocks around his feet and explaining himself to the fish off the Gordon Park breakwater.... Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-06-19 10:54:44 AM |
| #6 State Dept to Barrow Alaska. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-06-19 9:10:17 AM |
| #5 HHS to San Francisco? nah, East St.Louis, IL., and while we're at it, BIA to Bismark, ND. |
| Posted by: Don 2004-06-19 7:39:58 AM |
| #4 Right, now that the Yanks are moving away from the DMZ, I am scootin' |
| Posted by: Capt America 2004-06-19 1:53:59 AM |
| #3 I doubt they're as concerned about artillery as millions of starving and desperate Norks streaming South to the promised land when it all collapses.... Run for the border!!! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-19 1:36:41 AM |
| #2 I'd love to see them move the US Capitol from DC. Get States to give up land somewhere in the center of the USA. Would need to be geographically centered (Central or Mountain time zone), mild climate, adequate water, highway and railway nearby, space for a large airport. Actually, this is beginning to sound like Colorado Springs. Peterson AFB, Cheyenne Mountain, Ft Carson, US Northcom HQ (Thats the Homeland Defense HQ), Bunch of communications stuff up the road in Denver (All those "Giant Golf Balls" you see at Buckely AFB when you fly into Denver). Plenty of land, plenty of tech workers (plenty of them unemployed in Denver from all the dead telecom compnaies), great climate - the Olympic training center is there. Plus its far away from the coasts, etc. Keep the "historical" capitol there, with the museums, etc. Move the Supreme court first, then the Congress, and Whitehouse after that, then follow it with various heads of departments. Leave some of them in DC, like Defense (Pentagon). Move some other depts to other cities: move the SEC to NY, look at LA (Fed Communications Commission), SanFrancisco (Health & Human Services), Chicago (Dept of Agriculture), Seattle (FAA), St Louis or KC (Transportation), etc. State Dept would go to where, NY (UN)? Nah, put 'em in Cleveland. Decentralize. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-06-19 1:21:24 AM |
| #1 I doubt they're as concerned about artillery as millions of starving and desperate Norks streaming South to the promised land when it all collapses.... |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2004-06-19 12:21:12 AM |