Kim Jae-won: "Regarding the Yongsan Office Review, I Used the Term 'Gwanghwamun Era' to Avoid Controversy During the Election"

Yoon Election Camp Has a Team in Charge of 'Office Relocation'... "Not Decided Overnight"
On Criticism of 'Unilateral Decision', "Most Citizens Agree with Returning the Blue House"

Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, commented on President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's announcement to relocate the presidential office to Yongsan.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, revealed that during the presidential election period, Yongsan was also considered as a site for relocating the presidential office along with Gwanghwamun. He explained that the reason why the consideration of Yongsan was not disclosed during the election process was "because controversy could have started during the election process."

In an interview on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 21st, when asked about the 'relocation of the presidential office,' Supreme Council Member Kim said, "There was a team in the election camp responsible for the presidential office relocation issue. In particular, several people who had worked in the Blue House as security chiefs and were closely involved with the office relocation advised and led the team together," adding, "In fact, a lot of effort has been made on this. It was not decided overnight."

Regarding why the consideration of Yongsan was not mentioned during the election process, Kim said, "Actually, we broadly considered even Yongsan," and added, "If Yongsan had been considered during the election process, controversy could have started. Gwanghwamun was an issue that former President Moon Jae-in had already promoted by creating the Gwanghwamun Era Committee, so it was just expressed as opening the Gwanghwamun era."

In response to criticism that the office relocation was decided unilaterally without public consultation, he said, "Most people agree not only with returning the Blue House to the public but also with returning areas like Bukaksan and Inwangsan, adjacent to the Blue House, as spaces that Seoul citizens can frequently visit," and explained, "It is very important to ensure that the office relocation does not cause much inconvenience to people's lives, and Yongsan is judged to be the site that can satisfy all these conditions."

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is holding a press conference on the relocation of the Blue House presidential office to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building at the press conference room of the Presidential Transition Committee, located in the annex of the Korea Institute of Finance in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

The host asked, "Did the team responsible for the office relocation within the election headquarters include former generals or people well-versed in the Ministry of National Defense or the military?" This question seemed to be in reference to the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmen who opposed the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan. Eleven retired generals who previously served as chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff delivered a statement titled "Concerns about Security Gaps Due to the Blue House Office Relocation!" to the Presidential Transition Committee on the 20th.

In response, Supreme Council Member Kim said, "They would have been included. From what I know, there were security chiefs, people involved in Blue House office-related duties within the Blue House, and several advisors. Recently, even former Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin has come out in support of the Yongsan relocation," he replied.

He continued, "While there are voices generally opposing this issue, I believe those are exaggerated," and added, "Just like the opposition from former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmen, there are even more people who can say that the actual side effects of this issue are not that significant."

Regarding criticism that there is insufficient basis to execute the budget for the office relocation, he explained, "If the Presidential Transition Committee tries to execute the nearly 50 billion won budget now, it could be said that it is beyond their authority, but if President Moon Jae-in executes it, there is no problem," and added, "So, we are also in a position to ask for that. We are requesting the budget allocation."

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