【英语生活】韩国议会通过迁都计划

South Korean lawmakers voted Tuesday to move half of the national government to a city being built about 100 kilometers south of Seoul, rejecting President Lee Myung-bak's effort to keep the bureaucracy together.

The lawmakers voted 164-to-105 against Mr. Lee's bill to modify plans for the new city, Sejong -- which is being paid for with $20 billion in taxpayer funds -- to become a center of science and manufacturing rather than an administrative center.

The prime minister's office, finance ministry and approximately a dozen others will move to Sejong as soon as 2014. About 10,000 government workers will be affected. A 28-year-old government complex in the Seoul suburb of Gwacheon will likely close.

The presidential Blue House, defense and foreign ministries will remain in Seoul.

Proponents of the move say it will relieve the density of Seoul, a sprawling metropolitan and suburban area that is home to nearly half of South Korea's 49 million people.

Critics say the construction of Sejong is a waste of money, as South Korea's population declines and other major government projects over the past decade, including new airports and free economic zones, have languished or remain incomplete.

Government workers are likely to commute between Seoul and Sejong for years until it becomes more established with quality schools, residences and other amenities.

The new city, named for the 15th-century king who created the Korean alphabet, is currently the country's largest construction site, though little more than leveling and grading work has been done. Work slowed after Mr. Lee last November proposed Sejong be restructured with incentives to attract private companies instead of becoming a home to government agencies.

韩国国会周二举行投票表决，通过了将一半政府机构迁至距离首尔以南约100公里在建城市的议案，否决了总统李明博试图将政府保留在一处的努力。

议员们以164票对105票否决了李明博修改新建城市世宗(Sejong)用途的议案──将该市建造成科技和制造中心，而不是行政中心。该市的建设需要花费200亿美元纳税人的钱。

总理府、财政部和其他10多个政府部门最早将于2014年迁往世宗。约有一万名政府员工将受到影响。首尔郊区的果川(Gwacheon)一座有28年历史的政府大楼很可能会关闭。

总统府青瓦台、国防部和外交部将留在首尔。

迁都的支持者说，这将降低首尔的人口密度。韩国4,900万人口中有近一半居住在这个庞大的都市及其周边地区。

批评人士说，世宗的建设是资金的浪费，因为韩国的人口数量在下滑，过去10年来包括新机场和自由经济区等其他大型政府项目都被搁置一边或是仍未完工。

政府工作人员很可能需要在首尔和世宗之间通勤多年，直到世宗更加成熟，有了好的学校、住房和其他设施。

世宗以15世纪创建了朝鲜文的皇帝命名。目前该市成了韩国最大的建筑工地，不过目前只是做了一些平整土地的工作。去年11月，李明博提出世宗被改建成能够吸引私营企业的城市、而非一个政府机构所在地后，建设速度放缓。