At the public hearing held on the 3rd regarding the government's second plan to relocate central administrative agencies to Sejong City, criticism poured out in an angry atmosphere.
At the public hearing held at the Seoul Government Complex annex on this day, citizens of Gwacheon, where the government office is located, gathered in various places and strongly criticized the government's relocation plan to Sejong City. The Gwacheon Government Complex is currently home to the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Communications Commission, which are scheduled to relocate to Sejong City from 2027.
A male participant, introduced by the moderator as a citizen from Gwacheon, pointed out, “There must be justification and legitimacy for the relocation (to Sejong City), but the discussants are taking the relocation for granted,” and added, “The public hearing is illegal, and we need to talk about the grounds for the relocation.”
Another Gwacheon citizen also complained, “The convenience of residential conditions for relocating civil servants and the efficiency of government administration are all important, but from the perspective of citizens living in Gwacheon, the identity of the city is damaged.” He also said, “The identity of Gwacheon is the administrative building and general office building, but this identity is destroyed and the commercial and economic damage is severe due to the relocation.”
Gwacheon Mayor Shin Gye-yong objected, saying the government's relocation plan to Sejong City was unilaterally implemented without prior consultation.
He introduced himself as the mayor of Gwacheon, the region where 1,300 employees from 6 organizations will be relocating to Sejong City, and asked, "I came here by invitation, but I am disappointed that there is not a word of alternatives or measures for the region (Gwacheon) where the chairing professor and the seven discussants are leaving." He asked, "What is the reason for the invitation?"
At the same time, he raised his voice, saying, "Gwacheon City is an administrative city where the second government office was located, and there is a principle that the government announced when all major ministries left in 2014. That principle was to maintain Gwacheon's administrative functions."
About 250 Gwacheon citizens also showed up at Gwanghwamun Square in front of the Seoul City Hall, where the public hearing hall is located, and held a protest holding picket signs opposing the government's relocation plan to Sejong City.
The union leader of the Korea Media and Communications Commission, which was selected for relocation to Sejong, mentioned Article 36 of the Constitution, which states, "Marriage and family life must be established and maintained on the basis of individual dignity and gender equality, and the state protects them," and claimed, "Decisions directly related to working conditions were made without listening to a single word from the parties," and argued, "Public servants are human beings, not parts."
A request was also made to prepare measures not only for regular civil servants of central administrative agencies relocating to Sejong, but also for civil servants. Civil servants refer to workers on indefinite contracts working in government agencies. Treatment is different for each institution, and there is a gap in wages compared to civil servants.
A man who introduced himself as an employee of the National Human Rights Commission said, “The most important thing is that there are a lot of public servants (in the institutions targeted for relocation),” and urged, “They make up 10% of most institutions, and their salaries are lower than civil servants. We need to come up with a migration plan.”
He also said, “A decision to relocate (an institution) should be made taking into account the characteristics of the institution, but it is questionable whether the characteristics of the institution were taken into consideration,” and mentioned that the Chairman of the Global Association of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and the Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Forum (APF) recently sent letters to the President and Deputy Prime Minister, respectively, urging them to carefully review the Human Rights Commission’s relocation plan to Sejong City.
Jeong Chang-seong, the building facility planning officer at the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, who organized the public hearing on this day, responded to several questions from attendees by saying, "If the Korea-U.S. Unification Committee and other organizations leave (the Gwacheon Complex), we plan to fill it (again) and are conducting a demand survey," and added, "The goal is to maintain administrative functions."
He then asked for understanding, saying, "I would like to apologize for the fact that (the relocation of the institution) was done without prior consultation. There was a special policy of relocating an administrative institution," and promised, "I will explain the progress or any issues that need to be discussed later with Gwacheon (city)."
