[Exclusive] After Telling Public Institutions to Move to Provincial Areas, NRCS Faces Controversy Over Opening Banpo Center at a Cost of Billions of Won

Parliamentary Audit Materials from People Power Party Rep. Park Juntae

The National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRCS), under the Office of the Prime Minister and based in Sejong, has reportedly spent several billion won to establish a new office space in Seoul. Critics say the move runs counter to the Lee Jae-myung administration's "Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces" strategy, which calls for all public institutions in the Seoul metropolitan area to be relocated to provincial areas without exception.

Lee Hanju, chairman of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRC). Photo by Cho Yongjun.

According to documents submitted by the NRCS on October 12 to the office of Rep. Park Juntae of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, the council opened the Banpo Synergy Work Center in March at the Seoul Regional Public Procurement Service building in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, at a total cost of 2.153 billion won. The building is state-owned, and the Public Procurement Service authorized the NRCS to use it for a total of 243.36 million won in rent (146.77 million won) and maintenance fees (96.59 million won). The lease runs for 10 months, from March through December 2026, with monthly rent of 24.33 million won.

It is not easy for an institution that has completed its relocation to Sejong to spend public funds on facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area again. Such a move must undergo deliberation and approval by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Presidential Committee for Regional Development, among others. It could also draw criticism for running counter to the policy of relocating public institutions to provincial areas. Nevertheless, Lee Hanju, chairman of the NRCS, who is known as "President Lee Jae-myung's strategist," was identified as the final approver of the Banpo Center, which was established at considerable public expense. A former official at the Office of the Prime Minister who is familiar with the circumstances at the time said, "I understand that Chairman Lee pushed hard for it, saying office space was needed in Seoul," adding, "The council already had an office in Seoul. Would it have been possible to spend that much money on another one?"

Critics also say it is difficult to understand why the new center was established in Banpo rather than near the National Assembly. The NRCS had already been operating the Yeouido Smart Work Center near the National Assembly. Its monthly rent is 14.44 million won, just 60% of the Banpo Center's rent, making it more cost-effective as well. The NRCS said, "The shortage of physical space has limited our ability to support the work of public institutions relocated to provincial areas in the Seoul metropolitan area." It added, "We have expanded the successful operating model of the Yeouido space to the Gangnam area, establishing an integrated work-support system linking Yeouido and Banpo within the Seoul metropolitan area."

People Power Party lawmaker Park Juntae, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee

Rep. Park said, "It is a clear double standard for the Office of the Prime Minister-affiliated institution to open a center in Gangnam at a cost of several billion won while telling public institutions to move to provincial areas." He added, "Chairman Lee must explain why the new center was necessary and take responsibility if the waste of public funds is confirmed."

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