Editorial: Make the second relocation of public institutions a turning point for balanced national development

South Korea’s government plans to begin a second major relocation of administrative and public institutions to regions outside the capital area in the first half of next year. It also plans to merge or eliminate 109 public institutions.

The initiative comes 21 years after the Roh Moo-hyun administration announced the construction of an administrative hub city and the first public-institution relocation program in 2005. The new plan would distribute central government agencies and public institutions in the capital region between Sejong City and other regions. Agencies with broad influence, including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, would move first.

The government also presented Sejong as the center of its balanced-development strategy. A presidential office in Sejong is scheduled for completion in August 2029, while a Sejong branch of the National Assembly is due for completion in 2033. For public institutions, the government will finalize a relocation plan in the fourth quarter for roughly 350 agencies, guided by a principle of minimizing the number that remain in the capital region and concentrating them around innovation cities.

The first relocation moved 150 institutions and more than 50,000 people between 2007 and 2019. It slowed the concentration of population and institutions in the capital, but did not reverse the trend or turn the regions into new growth centers. Institutions were spread across areas in the name of fairness, limiting economies of scale and links with local industries. Poor living conditions also led many employees to leave their families in the capital and live apart during the workweek.

The plan therefore needs more than a new map. Concentrating institutions in innovation cities, connecting them with regional industries and universities, and improving living conditions will determine whether the second relocation achieves what the first did not. The government also aims to reduce 109 public institutions, about one-fifth of the total. The editorial supports mergers of five power-generation companies and the Korea National Oil Corporation with the Korea Gas Corporation, but says safeguards must prevent wasteful management and that public services must not suffer in the pursuit of numerical reductions. It calls for consultation with employees and local governments, followed by swift implementation backed by presidential leadership, legislation and funding.