A majority of Sejong residents identified the complete relocation of the National Assembly and the Presidential Office as the top priority for finishing the administrative capital. Analysts say public sentiment favors implementation—actually moving the institutions—over symbolic declarations, indicating growing support for a practical, execution-focused approach. After more than two decades of debate dating back to the Roh Moo-hyun administration, observers say political resolve is required to secure institutional completion.
A Daejeon Ilbo poll, commissioned to Hangil Research and conducted March 8–9 among 809 Sejong residents aged 18 and older, found that 55.2% of respondents chose the full relocation of the National Assembly and the Presidential Office to Sejong as the top priority for completing the administrative capital. Support for relocating both primary constitutional bodies exceeded a majority.
Next were a constitutional amendment to formally designate Sejong as the administrative capital (11.5%), expansion of the transportation network (10.7%), additional relocation of central administrative agencies (8.1%), and strengthening residential conditions (5.7%).
The poll results suggest Sejong residents prioritize action over rhetoric. While a constitutional amendment would be largely symbolic and declaratory, relocating the National Assembly and the Presidential Office would be a substantive step toward completing the administrative capital. Citizens’ preference for full relocation reflects a demand to end the two-decade debate by reaching a conclusion through actual moves rather than continued postponement.
Support for complete relocation was high across age groups, genders and party affiliations, indicating broad local consensus in favor of finishing the administrative capital.
The second-most selected option—amending the constitution to enshrine Sejong as the administrative capital—is closely connected to the relocation issue. The conventional view has been that fully moving the National Assembly and the Presidential Office requires a constitutional amendment. The Roh administration’s attempt to enact the New Administrative Capital Special Law was struck down by the Constitutional Court, in part because of the customary-constitutional notion that the capital is Seoul.
However, opinions have recently diverged on whether a constitutional amendment is strictly necessary for relocation. Given more than two decades of intensified concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and the growing need for balanced national development, many scholars argue that new legal interpretations could allow relocation without amending the constitution.
Discussion about completing the administrative capital has regained momentum in politics. The Lee Jae-myung administration has made completion of the administrative capital an official national policy priority, and the main opposition People Power Party has also engaged in related discussions. Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk recently proposed publicly that a constitutional amendment and a special law be pursued together, arguing that completing Sejong as the administrative capital is a national task that can no longer be delayed.
In this context, pressure is rising to pass a special law that clearly defines Sejong’s legal status as the administrative capital. Lawmakers view such a law as an institutional mechanism to clarify the legal basis for moving the capital while minimizing constitutional controversy.
Some warn that without accompanying special legislation and constitutional adjustments, the debate over the administrative capital could remain at the level of declarations even as moves of the Presidential Office and the National Assembly to Sejong become more tangible. Conversely, if the National Assembly establishes the necessary institutional framework, Sejong could reach a turning point and emerge as a national governance hub.
With cross-party backing elevating the issue to a national priority, analysts say this year could be a watershed for the Sejong administrative capital initiative.
The poll was conducted using an automated response system (ARS) with a structured questionnaire. The sample consisted entirely of mobile virtual numbers, and sampling used random selection with quotas for gender, age group and region. The response rate was 6.5%, and the margin of error is ±3.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.
