South Korea's president said yesterday he would seek an alternative way to ease Seoul's congestion after the Constitutional Court ruled he failed to adequately consult the people of South Korea for his high-profile plan to build a new capital.
One of President Roh Moo-hyun's election campaign pledges in 2002 was to build a new capital to take pressure off Seoul, which is crowded with 10 million people.
Roh yesterday accepted the court's decision, but said the government will draft an "appropriate plan" that lets it pursue its goal of "balanced development of the nation."
"Although there are various opinions and evaluations on the Constitutional Court's ruling, I think nobody can deny the legal validity of such a conclusion," Roh told parliament.
"We will soon present concrete measures after gathering public opinion and consulting the [ruling] party," he said in a speech read by Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan.
The Constitutional Court delivered a major blow to Roh last week, when it deemed unconstitutional a law underpinning Roh's politically contentious plan to move the government seat from the 600-year-old capital.
The court said the government must win popular approval for the move with a national referendum, or revise the Constitution.
It was not clear whether Roh's call for "balanced development of the nation" included pursuing such a referendum to revive the capital-move plan.
Roh's 20-month-old presidential tenure has been marked by controversy, including his impeachment by the National Assembly. In May, the Constitutional Court voted to reinstate him.
The nation has been divided over the ambitious plan to move the capital, estimated to cost 45 trillion won (US$39.4 billion).
Critics, including the political opposition and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said the government must hold a national referendum before launching such a project.
In July, 170 critics asked the Constitutional Court to determine whether a law passed by Parliament last December to lay the legal groundwork for the relocation was constitutional.
More than a fifth of South Korea's 48 million people live in Seoul, just 60km south of the border with North Korea.
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