Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and ministers of the ministries at the 

Sejong Government Complex pose for pictures during a ceremony to kick 

off the new year and usher in an era of Sejong administration in the new administrative city of Sejong on Jan. 2.

The government held a ceremony to launch the new year’s business at the grand auditorium of the Sejong Government Complex in Sejong Metropolitan Autonomous City on Jan. 2. Sejong City has emerged as a hub of administration as some 10,000 employees of 31 public organizations have moved into the new city under the second phase of relocating government entities as of the end of last year. The event, which was telecast live, was also attended at the Seoul Government Complex in downtown Seoul where some 400 government officials participated. 

Among the roughly 600 government officials on hand at the event were Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and the ministers and vice ministers of the 10 relocated ministries, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Hyun Oh-seok; Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick; Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lee Dong-pil; Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Suh Seung-hwan; Minister of Education Suh Nam-soo; Minister of Employment and Labor Bang Ha-nam; Minister of Environment Yoon Sung-kyu; Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoon Jin-sook; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo Jin-ryong; Minister of Health and Welfare Moon Hyung-pyo; and Minister of Security and Public Administration Yoo Jeong-bok. 

The ceremony was a symbolic beginning of an era of administration at the Sejong Government Complex. Prime Minister Chung said, “We’ve held a ceremony to start the new year’s business at the Complex, ushering in a full-fledged era of Sejong government administration and marking a watershed in the history of administration.” He went on to say that, mindful of the inefficiency of the Sejong complex, which suffered the difficulties related to the relocation of ministries, steps to upgrade the administration system should be taken. 

The government has decided to hold meetings presided over by the prime minister including cabinet meetings and national policy coordination meetings at Sejong Government Complex from now on, unlike last year when almost all such gatherings took place at Seoul Government Complex. In this regard, Prime Minister Chung said diverging Seoul and Sejong government complexes causes administrative inefficiency, and the holding of major government meetings, including economy-related ministers’ meetings presided over by the deputy minister-minister of strategy and finance, in Sejong City could lower administrative inefficiency, serving as an opportunity to transfer the nation’s administrative epicenter from Seoul to Sejong Government Complex. 

In accordance with the second phase of relocating government organizations, 31 agencies, including 10 out of 17 ministries have moved into the Sejong Government Complex, which now accommodates 10,044 officials as of the end of last year.