Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon expressed the need to relocate the presidential office and the National Assembly to Sejong City, and the Supreme Court and the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office to the Chungcheong region for balanced national development and local autonomy.
In a special lecture at the ‘2025 Korean Association for Local Government Studies Winter Conference’ held at KINTEX in Goyang on the 21st, Governor Kim stated, “We strongly advocate for the relocation of the presidential office, National Assembly, Supreme Court, and Supreme Prosecutor’s Office to Sejong and Chungcheong, which we couldn’t achieve during the previous administration (under President Roh Moo-hyun).” He added, “The presidential office and National Assembly’s move to Sejong City seems feasible in a short period since it’s already prepared. Discussions for the Supreme Court and the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office moving to Chungcheong should also be strongly pursued.”
He continued, “The critical issues are balanced national development and local autonomy. I believe there should be serious discussions on these matters in the constitution. Let’s seize this opportunity for constitutional amendments to clearly define aspects related to local governments being renamed as local administrations and matters concerning autonomy, administration, finance, organization, and personnel.”
Kim further emphasized, “The country is in turmoil and difficult circumstances, but rather than seeing this as a challenge, we should use this as an opportunity to establish a foundation in the amendments that clearly inscribes specific measures for decentralization and autonomy. Local autonomy is democracy.”
Previously, on the 12th, Governor Kim stressed on his social media that to address the historical issue of the 12·3 Martial Law Incident, a four-year presidential term with a distribution of power through constitutional reform is necessary, highlighting amendments concerning martial law, the economy, and power structure reconfiguration.
The conference, co-hosted by Gyeonggi Province and the Korean Association for Local Government Studies with the theme ’30 Years of Local Autonomy: New Spirit of the Era and Challenges,’ saw many scholarly participation to review the achievements and limitations of local autonomy and to discuss future development directions.
During the conference, Gyeonggi Province arranged three special sessions: ▲Gyeonggi RE100 Eco-friendly Economic Model and Green Growth ▲Special Self-governing City Era: Vision and Strategy for the Northern Gyeonggi Regional Economy ▲Major Issues in Local Administrative System and Gyeonggi’s Response Strategies, discussing key issues with academic experts.