Sejong, South Korea – By the standards of South Korea’s teeming metropolises, Sejong is not much of a city.
With a population of 400,000 people, Sejong, a planned city located about 100km (62 miles) south of Seoul, does not even crack the top 20 urban centres.
But if South Korea’s likely next president has his way, Sejong could soon become the country’s “de facto” capital.
Lee Jae-myung, the overwhelming favourite in Tuesday’s presidential election, has pledged to relocate the presidential office, legislature and numerous public institutions to Sejong as part of a renewed push to establish a new administrative capital.
“I will make Sejong the de facto administrative capital and Daejeon a global science capital,” Lee said in the run-up to the election, referring to the nearby central city.
“I will also push for the complete relocation of the National Assembly and presidential office to Sejong through social consensus.”
Sejong was conceived of in 2003 by late President Roh Moo-hyun, who believed that moving the capital would achieve the twin aims of reducing congestion in Seoul and encouraging development in South Korea’s central region.
Roh’s ambitions for Sejong were dealt a setback the following year when the Constitutional Court ruled that Seoul should remain the capital.
While the prime minister’s office and about a dozen ministries have moved to Sejong over the years as part of successive governments’ decentralisation efforts, Seoul has remained not only the official capital but also the centre of political, economic and cultural life.
Greater Seoul is home to about 26 million people – half of South Korea’s population – and most of the country’s top companies, universities, hospitals and cultural institutions are clustered in the region.
On a recent Friday afternoon, Sejong’s wide streets were mostly quiet, a world away from the bustling alleyways of downtown Seoul.
At the city’s express bus station, a number of government workers were waiting on a bus to take them to the capital.
Kevin Kim, a 30-year-old civil servant, travels to Seoul for the weekend at least twice a month.
“My family, friends and girlfriend are in Seoul,” Kim, who has lived in Sejong for nearly two years, told Al Jazeera.
“I have to go to Seoul, as all the big hospitals are there.”
Lee Ho-baek, who works for a start-up in Sejong, also visits Seoul several times a month.
“There just isn’t enough infrastructure or things to do in the city for us,” he told Al Jazeera, explaining that he is not sure if he will stay much longer despite having moved to Sejong only a year ago.
After years of roadblocks to Sejong’s development, including concerns about costs and constitutional legitimacy, candidate Lee’s pledge has stirred tentative signs of growth in the city.
In April, real estate transactions increased threefold compared with the same period the previous year.
But with Sejong’s fortunes so closely tied to the changing whims of politicians, there are concerns about its long-term sustainability.
During discussions about the possible relocation of the presidential office and legislature by Lee Jae-myung’s Democratic Party in 2020, apartment prices jumped by 45 percent – only to decline in the following years.
In Sejong’s Nasung-dong, a central neighbourhood surrounded by parks, shopping centres and flashy apartments, the streets were quiet as Friday afternoon turned into evening.
M-Bridge, a highly anticipated multifunctional mall designed by global architect Thom Mayne’s firm, was largely empty.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board, Sejong has a 25 percent vacancy rate for mid- to large-sized shopping centres, the highest rate in the country.
Few draws for young people
“In our city, the weekdays are busier than the weekends,” Jace Kim, a restaurant owner who came to Sejong in 2015, told Al Jazeera.
“Most public workers who work within the city spend their time and money outside of the city limits. Our city is relatively small and newly built, so it’s ideal for mothers and children. But we don’t have any universities or major companies that will attract young people to come here.”
Moon Yoon-sang, a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), said Washington, DC, could be a model for Sejong’s growth and development.
“If the centre of the government moves to Sejong, it’s the hope that conventions and important meetings will happen there instead of in Seoul,” Moon told Al Jazeera.
“Today, there are only two major hotels in the city, but people are expecting a monumental effect with the moving of the National Assembly.”
Park Jin, a professor at KDI’s School of Public Policy and Management, said he supports Sejong becoming the official capital.
After the 2004 Constitutional Court ruling, relocating the capital would require an amendment to the constitution, which would need to be approved by two-thirds of the National Assembly and half of voters in a referendum.
In a 2022 survey by Hankook Research, 54.9 percent of respondents said they approved of moving the capital to Sejong, but 51.7 percent disapproved of moving the National Assembly and the president’s office out of Seoul.
“As all of the country’s talent pool and key infrastructure are staying within Seoul, the country needs to invest in developing our other major cities,” Park told Al Jazeera.
“For Sejong, this means combining with neighbouring Daejeon to become the nation’s centre for administration and research.”
Park believes that the country’s five major cities outside the greater Seoul area should have at least 4 million residents to maintain healthy urbanisation.
Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, has 3.26 million people. Last year, the Korea Employment Information Service officially categorised Busan as being at risk of extinction due to record-low birth rates and a declining young workforce.
Population declines in regional parts of the country have been further exacerbated by internal migration to Seoul. More than 418,000 people moved to the capital region last year.
Sejong has a goal of reaching 800,000 residents by 2040, roughly double its current population.
“Today, many people won’t think about moving to Sejong. In an age where it’s expected for both members of married couples to be working, it’s very difficult for both members to find jobs outside of Seoul,” Moon said.
“Maybe in the next 10 years, we might see differences in how people view Sejong.”
Park said developing a city from scratch is not a short-term project.
“But with the relocation of the capital, we can expect some real changes to happen,” he said.
