President Lee Jae-myung drew a clear line on Thursday, stating there will be "no additional dispersal of government ministries" beyond the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan.
"Government ministries need to be consolidated. They need to be together to even hold meetings," Lee said during a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong.
The president acknowledged that moving the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan has produced "effects beyond what was predicted." He anticipated that this success would fuel requests from other regions, noting, "So they'll ask to send the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to Gwangju, and since Gangwon Province is a tourism destination, they'll ask to send the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to Gangwon."
Despite such regional expectations, Lee firmly dismissed the possibility. "Let me be clear once again—I said this when I moved the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. It is the only exception," he stated.
"Because developing the Arctic shipping route was such an important agenda item, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries alone was exceptionally moved to Busan among all government ministries. There will be no dispersal of the rest," Lee declared.
The president emphasized the impracticality of further relocations, saying, "We created an administrative city and are moving ministries from Seoul to Sejong. How can we then move them somewhere else from there?"
He warned, "Eventually, ministries would be scattered everywhere, and we'd end up holding Cabinet meetings across the entire country. We cannot let that happen."
