By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The administration is seeking to complete the construction of Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province by 2020, 10 years ahead of the previous schedule, said Prime Minister Chung Un-chan during a town hall meeting Saturday.
He also pledged that groundbreaking for most buildings in the area would start before President Lee Myung-bak finishes his term in early 2013, saying the development will create numerous jobs for residents.
The meeting was held in Daejeon, the center of the Chungcheong provinces, where protests are becoming increasingly fierce over the government's move to create an industrial town on the site of Sejong City, replacing the originally planned administrative complex.
When the bus where Chung was aboard left the hall following the meeting, protesters threw eggs at it, calling Chung, a native of Gongju in South Chungcheong, a traitor. Some protesters wore masks with an "X" mark to oppose the revision.
It was Chung's third visit to the province since he took office in late September. Eggs were also thrown at him when he visited his hometown in late October.
"I understand why Chungcheong residents are angry. The government is trying to come up with a better development plan and I'm confident that they will like it," the former Seoul National University president said.
Chung said the government planned to start construction of most buildings during the Lee administration and complete the project by 2020. Under the original plan, approved by the National Assembly in 2005, the administration was to have nine ministries and four agencies relocated to the area by 2030 to make it the biggest administrative complex in Korea.
In a nationally-televised address last month, President Lee pledged to revise the Sejong project and seek an alternative plan for the sake of the country's future, calling the administrative town project the "wrong" policy.
Chung said at the town hall meeting that the government's master development plan would be made public around Jan. 10.
After the meeting, he visited a construction site in Sejong to encourage workers and meet with a group of opinion leaders there.
He attended a prayer service at the Dangam Church in Gongju, Sunday morning before returning to Seoul.