177 government offices have been selected for relocation outside the greater capital region. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation and the Balanced National Development Committee say they will release their final plans, by region, by the middle of next month. The decision was supposed to come in March, so is already months late; we hope that it is delayed no further.
The reason plans have run into complications is because of the conflicting interests of competing regions and because the National Assembly is not trying to mediate. Local governments are scrambling to capture Korea Electric Power Corporation, a well-performing state company. The claims they are making are as diverse as can be, and it would have to be intense for them to even consider leaving the company in Seoul. Then there’s the National Assembly; the Grand National Party (GNP) is ignoring the matter altogether, and Uri Party is taking special care not to get actively involved for fear of offending different locales. The thinking seems to be that whoever steps up to the task will pay for it dearly in October’s special National Assembly election and next May’s regional elections. That is opportunistic behavior.
One can see that some are trying to use that as an opportunity to reverse things to how they began. They ask what need there is to “pursue the plan unreasonably,” or warn that there would be major negative results if the program gets forced through. Such claims are not focused on the issue at hand. Moving government agencies is something arrived at after much agonizing over how to correct the chronic disease that is the overcrowding in the greater capital region and to achieve balanced regional development. It is policy that is now treated as established fact. Erasing it now would cause even greater confusion. Suggesting it not happen because of the pain is like saying the country should endure the same disease for fear of surgery.
Finding ways that are agreeable to everyone is impossible. Locating government offices in a way that is best for efficiency is most ideal, but surmounting the wall of regional discord is difficult. A certain degree of regional distribution is unavoidable. National and regional governments have to accept that, as do members of the National Assembly, and then they need to spend sleepless nights narrowing their differences, making a decision once they achieve some level of agreement.
The Hankyoreh, 26 May 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[editorial]Don’t Delay Because of the ‘Pain’ |
