Ahn Hee-jung, the liberal governor of South Chungcheong Province, said Tuesday that he would move the country’s capital to Sejong, a new administrative town, if he was elected to the presidency.

“I wish to complete the work of the former President Roh Moo-hyun whose dream was to achieve a balanced regional development with the establishment of Sejong City,” Ahn said at a forum in Seoul. 

 
“In the upcoming presidential election, I will win the presidency and make Sejong an administrative capital,” he added.

Sejong, initially envisioned by the late President Roh as a new capital city replacing the overcrowded Seoul, now is home to 40 government agencies and over 250,000 residents. Roh‘s push to relocate the capital was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court amid much public controversy.

Ahn, a longtime aide of Roh, added that he would strive for decentralized governance and give more autonomy to local governments.

The 51-year-old politician of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has declared on Sunday to run in the upcoming presidential election.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)