Sejong (city)

Korean spelling
Korean alphabet :	세종 특별 자치 시
Hanja :	世宗特別自治市
Revised Romanization :	Sejong Teukbyeol-jachisi
McCune-Reischauer :	Sejong T'ŭkpyŏl-chach'isi

Location of Sejong

Hannuridaero

Sejong ( kor. 세종 ) is a planned city in South Korea . The city, which opened on July 1, 2012, has the status of a special self-governing city, to which numerous ministries and administrations have moved from Seoul .

Surname

The new city is officially called the Special Autonomous City Sejong ( Kor. 세종 특별 자치 시 ). The name was chosen as a memory of the Korean King Sejong (1397-1450). The area was previously called Yeongi ( 연기 , 燕岐 ).

history

In 2003, then President Roh Moo-hyun planned to relocate the capital of South Korea from Seoul to Chungcheongnam-do Province , where Sejong is now being built, but these plans failed in 2004 before the Constitutional Court. At the beginning of 2007, the South Korean government therefore decided to build a special administrative district that would initially house nine ministries and four national agencies. The plan envisaged a city with a population of 20,000 (late 2012), 300,000 (2020) and about 500,000 people for completion in 2030. The cost of the project billion 20 dollars given.

In September 2009, then Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said that the construction of Sejong City as a national administrative center was "not an efficient measure from an economic point of view". There are also concerns about whether Sejong City could be the capital of a united Korea and whether Sejong will not develop into a satellite city of Seoul over time. The incumbent President Lee Myung-bak agreed with his Prime Minister and proposed a science and education center instead of the establishment of an administrative district in Sejong City. However, the South Korean parliament overturned this proposal, whereupon Chung Un-chan resigned in late July 2010.

The expansion into a center for science, education and business continues. Nine ministries, two government offices, two government agencies and 16 state research institutes are to be located. The key authorities, such as the presidential office and the foreign and defense ministries, are to remain in Seoul, however. In addition, cultural life is to be strengthened through museums, theaters and concert halls. By the end of June 2012, 6,000 residents had moved to Sejong, with only the first village of Cheot Maeul existing so far .

In the first phase of relocation for the government agencies at the end of 2012, seven ministries and the prime minister's office moved to the Sejong government complex. The government complex Sejong was officially opened in 2014. After the third phase of relocation in October 2014, 16 ministries and 20 government agencies should be located in the new administrative city, so that around 10,000 government employees and 3,000 scientists would work in Sejong. The Sejong government complex is located right in the center of the country, which should make it possible to travel to the administrative capital from all over South Korea in two hours thanks to the nearby high-speed railways, expressways and highways.

The 15 buildings of the ministries are all interconnected in the Sejong government complex. This takes up an area of 596,000 square meters, which corresponds to the size of 81 soccer fields. With its high earthquake resistance and the highest level of energy efficiency, the government complex is designed as a safe and efficient building. It's also a green building with wide green spaces nearby and an environmentally friendly waste treatment facility. In particular, the high level of networking between government agencies is a unique strength of the Sejong government complex. Government officials find it easy to work together and share the rooms with one another in an efficient manner as all of the buildings are connected. The greatest innovation of the Sejong Government Complex is the introduction of the video conferencing system. It connects ten government complexes across the country with 17 city and provincial governments, thus reducing any inefficiency from a distance. In 2015 a total of 363 video conferences were held and various national topics were discussed using the conference systems.

The Sejong Government Complex offers officials numerous complementary facilities. In addition to canteens, cafeterias and cafés, there are 9 day-care centers for those of the more than 15,000 civil servants and employees who are also parents and want to continue working. In addition, gyms and outdoor sports facilities help officers stay fit and healthy. The Sejong Government Complex boasts the world's largest roof garden, which connects 15 roofs and can be visited and hiked. Citizens as well as officials can enjoy a leisurely stroll on the hiking trail and enjoy the beautiful parks with wildflowers, reeds and many other plants. Around 11,000 citizens visited the roof garden in 2015.

The Sejong Convention Center is used to host local cultural activities, conferences, banquets and exhibitions. In 2015, over 480 events, trade fairs and workshops took place.