[Hankyoreh, April 17 2008] [Editorial]Innovative cities project should be kept

The “innovative cities” (hyeoksin dosi) construction project, initiated with the idea of correcting the serious imbalance between the greater capital region and the provinces, is taking a beating. A Board of Audit and Inspection , or BAI, report released on April 15 says the economic effects were exaggerated, and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is going on the offensive. By the looks of it, this project, so ambitiously pursued by President Roh Moo-hyun, could end up being scrapped.

A massive state project that was going to involve trillions of won should not be turned back by herding public opinion into one corner, all the more so because “innovative cities” are supposed to be about deterring centralization in the greater capital region and achieving balanced regional development.