By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter

The Yongi-Kongju region in South Chungchong Province topped the evaluation chart for the new administrative capital relocation project, scoring 88.96 points.



The Presidential Committee on Administrative Capital Relocation on Monday announced the evaluation results made by its sub-commission comprising 80 panelists, at the central government complex in Seoul, saying the Yongi-Kongju region scored the highest mark, followed by Nonsan-Kongju with 80.37 points among four candidate sites.
The final confirmation will be made next month after a series of public hearings and presidential approval.

However, it is highly probable that Yongi-Kongju will host the new administrative capital as the gap with the runner-up is wide.

``Data gathering and studies for the relocation site have been conducted for a year and a half. Also, 80 experts reviewed the candidate sites. The results are valid as long as there are no particular problems in the evaluation,’’ said Kwon Yong-woo, professor at Sungshin Women’s University and chairman of the evaluation committee.

Changgi-myon in Yongi-Kongju was also considered by late president Park Chung-hee when he was pursuing the relocation of the capital prior to his death in 1979.

The other two candidates _ Chonan in South Chungchong Province and Chinchon-Umsong in North Chungchong Province _ received 75.02 and 66.87 points, respectively.

The evaluation was done based on five main categories and 20 sub-categories. The five main classifications included the effect on balanced national development, accessibility to the site from other parts of the country, environmental impact, natural setting for livelihood, and development costs and economic efficiency.

``The Yongi-Kongju area, whose land size is 71.28 million square meters, received relatively higher marks in all of the five categories,’’ Kwon said. ``Nonsan-Kongju won higher points in economic efficiency than Yongi-Kongju, but it failed to get better ratings in other categories.’’

As the government has now revealed the evaluation results and Yongi-Kongju is likely to become the final site, it is proceeding to recalculate costs in the construction of the new administrative capital.

The government’s initial estimation for relocation costs was some 45.6 trillion won to accommodate a population of 500,000 and most major public bodies on about 75.9 million square meters.

However, the government is expected to face tougher objections from the opposition parties and non-governmental organizations, as they raised their voices to demand the government to prove the legitimacy of the relocation plan.

The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) kept demanding to form a special committee in the National Assembly to examine the reasonableness of the relocation project, blaming the government for pushing it without having undergone the appropriate processes for a national consent.

``The relocation project has to be suspended as there is no consent from the public, not even within the government itself,’’ a GNP official said. ``The government needs to change its attitude and holds public hearings and discussion sessions, where citizens and non-governmental organizations participate, while establishing a special committee in the National Assembly.’’

kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr