Justice and Gender Equality ministries to move to Sejong next year as government plans relocation of 350 public institutions

South Korea will begin moving major central government agencies and public institutions to Sejong in the first half of 2027, without waiting for new government buildings to be completed. The government said it will use rented private buildings to start the first relocations next year.

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Starting in the first half of 2027, we will pursue sequential relocation, prioritizing institutions such as the Justice Ministry and Gender Equality Ministry that are large or likely to have a strong relocation effect.

At a news conference on administrative and public-institution relocation, Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-joong said agencies with large scale or strong relocation effects, including the Justice Ministry and Gender Equality Ministry, would move first in stages. The ministry also plans to amend the Multifunctional Administrative City Act to remove those agencies from the list of institutions excluded from relocation.

Agencies requiring separate buildings, including the prosecution and police authorities, will move after new premises are built, Yoon said. Relocation plans for roughly 350 public institutions based in the capital region will be finalized in the fourth quarter. Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Yun-duk said the government would fully review the criteria used during the first relocation round and include institutions unless they must remain in the capital region.

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We will include an institution in the relocation targets in principle unless it absolutely must remain.

The government said it would concentrate institutions around innovation cities rather than distribute them mechanically among regions. Prime Minister Han Sung-sook said the policy aims to gather regional growth momentum and strengthen regional hubs. The Financial Services Commission was not included in the initial announcement, but Yoon said that did not mean it had been excluded. Final decisions will come in the fourth quarter. The Foreign Ministry and Unification Ministry could move in line with a presidential office relocation in 2030 or a parliamentary branch opening in 2033.

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We will avoid distribution based on splitting the pie and concentrate the energy of regional growth like a campfire around innovation cities to maximize the strength of regional hubs.

The plan also includes a broad functional restructuring. The government intends to cut 109 public institutions, merge five power companies into one as part of an energy transition centered on renewable energy, and combine four regional port authorities into a single body. It also plans to unify overseas bases operated by public institutions to provide exporters and overseas Koreans with one-stop services. Officials said they would protect the continuity of public services during the moves and review housing, education, childcare and transport conditions for relocating employees and their families.

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By merging the five power companies into one, we will achieve a major energy transition centered on renewable energy, and by merging four regional port authorities with similar functions into one, we will improve international port competitiveness.