A new symbolic space that will represent South Korea will be created by the people.

The National Agency for Administrative City Construction (NAACC) announced on the 18th that, as part of the international competition for the master plan of the ‘Administrative City National Symbolic Zone’which will house the National Assembly Sejong Office, the President’s Sejong Office, and civic spacesit will hold a ‘Citizen Participation Vote’ from the 22nd to the 28th in which the public will directly participate.

The National Symbolic Zone will be created on a site of about 2.1 million ㎡ in Sejong-dong, Sejong City’s S-1 Living Zone. With the President’s Sejong Office and the National Assembly Sejong Office located within a single area, an interpretation of space is required that combines practicality and symbolism while facilitating communication with the public, befitting a symbolic place where the twin pillars of administration and legislation coexist. The plan is to create an ‘open administrative space’ where policy decisions and public communication occur simultaneously by linking it with the Government Sejong Complex, which is adjacent to Sejong’s natural environment, including the Geum River, Wonsusan, and Lake Park.

This Citizen Participation Vote is a process in which citizens directly choose the most preferred proposals among those submitted to the international competition. While local governments have previously used citizen preference surveys as reference material, it is the first time in the history of domestic design competitions that voting results will be reflected directly in the evaluation score.

NAACC defines the National Symbolic Zone, being pursued as a key pillar of balanced national development, as a ‘project to design South Korea’s next 100 years.’ Following the announcement of the international competition in September, it will close submissions on the 20th and, starting with the Citizen Participation Vote, enter the full-fledged evaluation process.

Any adult holding South Korean nationality can participate after identity verification. Access is available through various channels and QR codes, including the official competition website (sejong-compe.kr), the NAACC website (naacc.go.kr), and NAACC’s YouTube, Instagram, and Naver Blog.

The vote will cover the renderings of the President’s Sejong Office and the civic space submitted by participants. Citizens will choose their three preferred entries. Each of the top three entries in the tally will receive bonus points, which will be combined with the scores from the first expert review on the 1st of next month to select the top five entries.

A second review will then be conducted on the five entries on the 10th of next month to determine the final winner, with the final winner and prize-winning entries to be announced on the 12th. In consideration of expertise, the results of the public vote will be reflected only in the first review; the second review will determine the final plan through deliberations by experts in urban planning, architecture, landscape, and culture and the arts.

NAACC also plans to offer prizes such as mobile phones and earphones through a drawing for citizens who participate in the vote. The drawing results will be announced around the middle of next month after the reviews conclude.

“The National Symbolic Zone will be created not only as the core space of our nation’s administration and legislation but as a living cultural space where parks and plazas harmonize,” said NAACC Commissioner Kang Ju-yeop. “We introduced the Citizen Participation Vote to reflect the opinions of the people, the true owners of this space, from the planning stage.”