44 Agencies, Around 10,000 Civil Servants to Move to 'Sejong'... 27, Including the Justice and Gender Equality and Family Ministries and Financial Services Commission, to Relocate First Next Year
The 17 agencies, including the ministries of foreign affairs, unification and national defense,
as well as the Board of Audit and Inspection and National Police Agency, will relocate in stages after new offices are built.
Forty-four institutions, including central administrative agencies still located in Seoul, Gwacheon and other parts of the Seoul metropolitan area, will move to Sejong City starting next year. The move is intended to ensure the smooth implementation of the government’s policy agenda to “complete Sejong as an administrative capital” and to strengthen a system of governance centered on Sejong. Around 10,000 civil servants are expected to relocate to Sejong.
On October 13, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung announced the plan at a briefing at the Government Seoul Complex on the “second relocation of central administrative agencies.”
Minister Yoon said, “A total of 44 institutions are included in this relocation, with 9,929 civil servants based on authorized staffing levels.”
After reviewing 142 administrative agencies in the Seoul metropolitan area, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety decided that all central government ministries would move to Sejong to improve the efficiency of government operations, while affiliated agencies responsible for public-facing and direct public services would be excluded.
Depending on the nature of their work and the availability of office space, the institutions will move in one of two ways: early relocation using leased offices, or relocation after new office buildings are constructed.
Twenty-seven institutions with no need for separate office buildings, comprising 2,995 civil servants, will relocate in stages during 2027, using privately leased office space in Sejong.
Accordingly, six institutions will move first in the first half of next year: the Broadcasting Media Communications Commission, the Personal Information Protection Commission, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the National Education Commission, and the Overseas Koreans Agency. In the second half, the remaining 19 institutions, including the Financial Services Commission, affiliated agencies of various ministries, and advisory committees, are expected to move to Sejong. The timing of the relocation of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will be decided in line with the amendment of the Special Act on the Construction of Administrative City.
Seventeen institutions, comprising 6,934 civil servants, require independent office buildings and specialized facilities because of the nature of their work, including investigations, security, and monitoring. They will move in stages after new office buildings are constructed by 2031.
The government also plans to prepare support measures for housing, transportation, and relocation costs so that civil servants moving to Sejong and their families can settle in smoothly. It will provide moving expenses and initial relocation support, and will consider temporarily providing transportation for civil servants who cannot move immediately because they need to find housing or wait until their children finish the school term.
Preparations for securing office buildings and funding will also proceed in parallel. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety estimates that about KRW 89.7 billion will be needed next year for leasing, outfitting, and operating offices for institutions relocating to leased buildings, as well as for relocation support for civil servants. It estimates that about KRW 3.1 trillion will be needed to construct office buildings for institutions requiring independent facilities and for institutions expected to use leased offices in the future. The government plans to begin the office construction process in 2027, allocating about KRW 28.6 billion for basic design. The total project cost may be adjusted depending on each institution’s location and facility size, as well as the results of site acquisition and design.
For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which are designated as institutions excluded from relocation under the current Special Act on the Construction of Administrative City, the government plans to discuss removing the provision that excludes them from relocation.
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Minister Yoon said, “The relocation of central administrative agencies to Sejong is a key national strategy to overcome the concentration of activity in the Seoul metropolitan area, make efficient use of national territory, and enable the Republic of Korea to achieve sustainable growth and a new leap forward. We will move ahead with the relocation while attending to every necessary detail, minimizing inconvenience to the public and helping the relocating institutions settle in smoothly.”
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