The government and ruling party have agreed to form a special task force which will handle the proposed relocation of the country's administrative capital out of Seoul.

The decision came at a meeting of officials from the government and the ruling Millennium Democratic Party on Wednesday. The government will also submit a special motion on the relocation of the administrative capital to the National Assembly in September. According to the motion, the actual move of state agencies and organizations would begin in 2012.

The proposed 30-member task force will be placed under the control of the president and co-headed by the prime minister and a civilian expert.

The task force plans to choose the final candidate site for the new administrative capital by year's end.

Moving some central government offices out of Seoul was a key campaign pledge of President Roh Moon-hyun in last year's presidential election.

He said the relocation would drastically ease traffic and other congestion in Seoul where one-fourth of the nation's 48 million people are concentrated.