The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a final plan in relocating some government offices out of Seoul to a new city in the central part of the country, a project that was delayed for months by political controversy.
A total of nine ministries and four subsidiary agencies will move to Sejong City, under construction 150 kilometers south of Seoul, by 2014, along with more than 10,000 public employees, according to the plan.
The original plan was to move 12 ministries and six state offices.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security is expected to announce full details of the relocation later this month.
The Sejong City project was initiated by then President Roh Moo-hyun in 2005, who made the relocation one of his centerpiece presidential campaign pledges to help decentralize Seoul and promote development of other regions of the country.
President Lee Myung-bak, however, after taking office in February 2008, tried to abort the plan, saying the results would be confusing and
inefficient since the capital would be divided in two. He and his ruling party submitted a bill to build a science-business hub instead, but the
parliament rejected it in late June, upholding the original relocation plan.
The city is named after King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the inventor of the Korean alphabet.
The Cabinet, meanwhile, also approved a law revision requiring bus drivers to obtain driver's licenses specified for bus operators.
Bus drivers, like cab drivers, must pass an exam measuring their understanding of traffic laws and geography to get a professional license,
officials said.