Lee Jae-myung said on the 11th that "during our government's term, we must open the era of the Sejong presidential office and make every effort with the mindset that the final Cabinet meeting must also be held at the Sejong office." Building the Sejong presidential office is a campaign pledge of President Lee, and the project recently entered architectural design with a target move-in of Aug. 2029.
Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong that day, President Lee said, "We must join forces for the stable transfer of the nation's central functions so that Sejong, which symbolizes balanced national development, can firmly establish itself as the genuine axis of state affairs," and added, "Accelerate the construction of the Sejong presidential office and the National Assembly Sejong branch, and proceed without a hitch with the related infrastructure maintenance as well."
He also said, "We must continue, without interruption, the legal and institutional support for the practical and final completion of Sejong as the administrative capital," adding, "We will make the best pan-government effort so that Sejong, the center of the nation's territory, and Chungcheong can become the hubs leading a new era of balanced development."
President Lee said that transferring the office is important from the perspective of balanced national development as well. Lee said, "The single-pole system centered on the capital region, which has already reached its limits, is the starting point of all major problems in our society today, including real estate, education, youth issues, and extreme polarization," adding, "Balanced national development is the key to curing these chronic ills of Korea and opening an era of growth for all, where the entire country enjoys equal opportunities for growth."
Earlier, the National Agency for Administrative City Construction said on the 22nd of last month that it would push ahead with the basic and working designs based on "A national symbolic space embodied with buildings and courtyards, a landscape of wisdom," the winning entry in the design competition by the Heerim Architects & Planners consortium. The winning entry received high marks for its space composition that conforms to natural topography like Changdeokgung, its traditional arrangement of buildings and courtyards, the close placement of the president and aides, and its use of elevation differences to create three-dimensional circulation.