The Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday it will begin moving into the newly built administrative hub in central South Korea later this week.

Sejong City, some 150 kilometers south of Seoul, came officially into being as a “special autonomous city” in July to be home to 16 central government offices and 20 subsidiary organizations in or near Seoul by 2014.

The project, first put forward by former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2002, aims to promote balanced regional development and ease overpopulation in Seoul and nearby regions. More than 10,000 government officials are to move into the city in stages.

While the city is now in its first stage of construction, some departments of the PMO, including its 140 officials, will be the first to relocate starting on Sept. 14 to begin working in the new location on Monday, followed by the remaining PMO departments with

552 officials, the ministries of finance, agriculture, environment, and land, and the Fair Trade Commission, according to the government.

It estimates the population in Sejong will grow from 121,000 this year to 300,000 by 2020 and to half a million by 2030, when construction of facilities and infrastructure is expected to be complete. (Yonhap News)