Government Announces Relocation of ~350 State Bodies Out of Greater Seoul

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook announced that most of South Korea's roughly 350 state-run bodies currently based in Greater Seoul (including Incheon and Gyeonggi Province) will relocate starting in 2027, beginning with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family moving to Sejong. The plan also merges 109 state-backed institutions and dissolves some, including Korea Coal Corp. The Lee Jae-myung administration frames the move as advancing 'balanced national growth,' with a presidential office targeted for Sejong by 2029 and a parliament building by 2033.