Gongju - South Korea's new Capital Gongju

[Bullet]

South Korea's government announces that the country's capital is to be moved from Seoul to a new site at Gongju in South Chungcheong province.

Gongju (also transliterated as Kongju) (Gongju-si; 공주시; 公州市) is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Gongju was formerly named Ungjin and was the capital of Baekje from AD 475 to 538.

On August 11, 2004, the South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan announced that the country's capital would be moved from Seoul to Gongju commencing in 2007. A 7,100 hectare (17,540 acre) site has been chosen for the project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2030. It is envisaged that government and administrative functions will be moved to the new capital, along with (possibly) the parliament and supreme court, although no sizable relocation is expected until the first phase of the project is completed by 2012.

The move is intended to reduce Seoul's overcrowding and economic dominance over the rest of South Korea; perhaps not coincidentally, it will also move the government and administration out of range of North Korean artillery fire.

The cost of the project is as yet unclear, with estimates ranging from $45bn to as much as $94bn.

The move has aroused controversy, with opposition parties calling for it to be endorsed through a referendum. Some civic groups have also launched a contitutional appeal. Opinion polls have shown that a slight majority of South Koreans is opposed to the move.