Gominjeong "Difficulties due to COVID-19... Why spend taxes to move the office?"

"When Visiting the Ministry of National Defense Building, It Will Give the Image of a 'President in Military Uniform'"

Gominjeong, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] As President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol’s team is considering relocating the presidential office from the existing Cheong Wa Dae to the new Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan, Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung strongly criticized the move, questioning, "What is the reason for insisting on moving Cheong Wa Dae while spending taxpayers' money?"

On the 17th, Ko shared an article related to Yoon’s 'office relocation' on her Facebook and said, "I don’t know who the so-called 'Yoon core officials' (Yoon’s key aides) are, but I have two things to say," expressing her criticism.

In the article Ko shared, the so-called 'Yoon core officials' argued, "Currently, Cheong Wa Dae’s office and secretariat are separated, which is inefficient. If the president and secretaries gather in the Ministry of National Defense’s new building, they can work intensively like the U.S. White House."

They also emphasized that once Yongsan Park in Seoul is completed, President-elect Yoon will have more opportunities to communicate directly with the public.

Regarding this, Ko pointed out, "President Moon Jae-in already works in the same building as his secretaries, namely the Secretariat Building called Yeomin-gwan," adding, "It seems they haven’t updated themselves."

She further noted, "Yongsan Park’s completion is scheduled for 2027," and "It seems difficult to realize this during the president-elect’s term."

A panoramic view of the Ministry of National Defense area in Yongsan-gu as seen from Namsan, Seoul. The office of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is reportedly considering relocating the presidential office from the current Blue House to the Ministry of National Defense building. / Photo by Yonhap News

She continued, "The president is stepping out of Cheong Wa Dae to avoid becoming an imperial president, but moving to the Ministry of National Defense building will only give the image of a president in military uniform," and criticized, "At a time when economic difficulties are worsening due to COVID-19, focusing on economic issues is already insufficient. I am curious about the reason for insisting on moving Cheong Wa Dae while spending taxpayers' money."

Meanwhile, it has been reported that President-elect Yoon’s team is currently reviewing plans to relocate the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan.

In this regard, Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for President-elect Yoon, explained the significance of the office relocation during a briefing at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 18th, saying, "The current Cheong Wa Dae structure focuses more on the president than the people," and "It takes considerable time to go from the Secretariat Building to the president’s office."

She added, "Since the president vowed not to waste even a single minute or second, it is also important that the president, secretaries, and the public do not maintain a special distance and can promptly resolve public issues in real time," emphasizing, "Until now, Cheong Wa Dae has been cut off and isolated from citizen communication. Ultimately, it prioritized presidential protection above all else. Because of that, it was not possible to come closer to the people."

She further stated, "It is not a physical relocation issue, but our intention is always to breathe together with the people and not cause inconvenience to them, which is very important."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.