Lee says regional networking key to success of 'science belt'

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Tuesday the envisioned "science-business belt" of massive research complexes is for the sake of South Korea's future and interconnecting research bases is key to the success of the multi-billion dollar project. The remark came a day after the central city of Daejeon was selected as the main base of the science belt that calls for creating world-class research institutes and facilities, including a particle accelerator, to help develop cutting-edge technologies. Competition to host the 3.5 trillion won project (US$3.2 billion) project was so intense that it has deepened regional rivalries and division. After the selection of Daejeon's Daedeok district, which is already home to a number of major research centers, other candidate cities protested strongly, though the government said it would base some other institutes and facilities in other regions. "The international science-business belt is to prepare for the country's future," Lee said at a Cabinet meeting, according to spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung. "The reason we named it a business belt, not a business city, is because one region cannot do it all. Networking between regions should go smoothly to make the project a success." The project had originally been one of Lee's campaign pledges in the 2007 presidential race. Last year, it came under the spotlight after the government said it would award the project to the central province of Chungcheong, which includes Daejeon, if the province agreed to scrap another massive state project to relocate a series of government offices there from Seoul. But the government's attempt to scrap the relocation project was later voted down in parliament, and the science belt project had since been up in the air.