Sejong City boosts area’s land prices

The following is the third in a series of articles on Sejong City, a new multifunctional administrative city that was launched on July 1. ― Ed.


The Lee Myung-bak government had sought to build a new business hub in Sejong City, South Chungcheong Province, as an alternative to an administrative city plan.

Though its idea of creating a business-oriented city instead of an administrative city reinvigorated the region’s property market in early 2010, the National Assembly voted down President Lee’s proposal, ending a decade-long political debate over Sejong in June 2010.

Nevertheless, the provincial area’s real-estate prices have continued to climb since then as uncertainties from political controversy lifted.

On Sunday, Sejong City was finally launched as an administrative city. Many property investors are hoping for further price increases driven by the historic relocation of central government ministries.

Starting this September, a total of 36 central government offices, including nine ministries, and 16 state-run organizations will move to the region. The chain of movement from their current location of Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province and Seoul is scheduled to conclude in 2014.

The Prime Ministers’ Office and several others including the Finance Ministry will finish their movement by the end of 2012.

As the relocation is imminent, symptoms of another round of speculative investments are emerging, according to public officials.

Land prices in Yeongi-gun, where Sejong City is located, jumped 0.55 percent last May, posting the sharpest growth in the country for the third consecutive month. The administrative city also involves some districts of Gongju City in South Chungcheong Province and Cheongwon in North Chungcheong Province.

It is noteworthy compared to the figures for other major areas. Gyeonggi Province’s gain stood at 0.11 percent in May, Seoul with 0.09 percent and Incheon with 0.06 percent. The nationwide average marked a 0.11 percent growth.

Over the past two years, PR offices for apartments of major construction companies in the vicinity of Sejong have been full of vehicles and investors from other regions.

One apartment complex provided by the Korea Land & Housing Corp., which is going into Sejong City’s “First Village,” has space for 1,582 families. It is the first parceling out of property of the first stage of public housing, which calls for the opening of 19,500 units by 2014.

According to real estate agents in Yeongi, there are still a flood of inquiries from investors. “Aside from Yeongi, Cheongwon and Gongju, other Chungcheong cities like Cheongju are now getting a lot of inquiries from merchants and investors about retail store property,” a realtor said.

In late 2010, construction began on District 2 of Stage 1 of the Government Complex, which had dragged on for about a year.

Construction had been scheduled for early 2009, but was delayed as the Lee administration had pushed ahead with its modified plan.

The construction process was a yardstick to measure the Lee administration’s willingness to carry out the original plan, which features the moving of government ministries, mapped out by the former administration.

Sejong was initially designed by the government of the late President Roh Moo-hyun under its vision for balanced development of provincial areas by moving the country’s capital to the inland region from Seoul.

However, the ambitious new-capital project was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 2004 and scaled down to the current blueprint, facilitating only the relocation of most government ministries and agencies.

As District 1, which began in 2008, and District 2 are almost completed, about 4,000 government employees will move there during the second half of this year.

The multifunctional administrative city construction agency began Stage 2 of the Government Complex 2014 in 2011 and Stage 3 in 2012, with plans to complete them by 2013 and 2014, respectively.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)