South Korea on Monday officially launched a planned government city which is to house several key ministries. Sejong City, 120 kilometres south of Seoul, is to be home to 36 departments by 2014, including the office of the prime minister and several ministries, according to a report of DPA. The president, parliament and key portfolios including foreign, defence and unification ministries are to remain in Seoul. The 22.5-billion-won (US$19 billion) "world class city" is still under construction, but will be home to half a million people by 2030, Premier Kim Hwang Sik said at the ceremony.