The Grand National Party continued its attack on the Millennium Democratic Party's plan to move the "administrative capital" to Chuncheong Province, Wednesday, saying such a relocation will dilapidate Seoul. The MDP responded that the move would stabilize real estate prices in the current capital.

GNP candidate Lee Hoi-chang said if the government complex and National Assembly are moved, related enterprises will have to move also and that this is sure to bring on the degradation of Seoul. Party leader Suh Chung-won also said that such a relocation would ruin the Seoul area economy. GNP spokesperson Nam Kyung-pil said the pledge was probably made up spontaneously, as MDP presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun initially said the cost would be W2 trillion, and then changed this to W4.5 trillion in a TV debate on Tuesday. "This shows the riskiness of candidate Roh," he noted.

In response to the attacks, Roh said at an Incheon speech that if the administrative capital is relocated, this will stabilize housing prices of the current capital, adding the GNP was telling a blatant lie by saying that Seoul real estate prices will fall. The candidate added that the political and administrative facilities should be sent to Chungcheong Province, while Seoul should be fostered as an economical and financial city. MDP Spokesperson Lee Nak-yon said that the dilapidation of former capitals did not happen in the cases of the US, Australia, and Brazil.

The chairpersons of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province local governments issued a joint statement saying the issue involving 23 million people living in the Seoul area should not be addressed without full discussion, and that they will fight to prevent the proposed relocation.

(Choi Joon-seok jschoi@chosun.com )