"Yoon, Who Experienced Three Blue House Raids, Pushes for Yongsan Relocation Due to Those Memories"

2017 5-Hour Standoff Ends in Failure
Entry Attempts Also Thwarted in 2019-2020
"Felt Like an Unpassable High Wall"
"Must Have Felt the Need for Change"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the transition committee secretariat meeting held at the Presidential Transition Committee in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 22nd, delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The legal community interprets President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol’s ‘Yongsan era’ as reflecting his experiences during his time as a prosecutor.

A legal insider said on the 22nd, "A search and seizure of the Blue House is an extraordinary event that even veteran prosecutors rarely experience, but Yoon did it three times," adding, "The perception he formed of the Blue House at that time may have led to the relocation of the presidential office."

When Yoon worked as a prosecutor, he conducted direct or indirect search and seizures of the Blue House three times. The first was on February 3, 2017, when he served as the head of Investigation Team 4 of the ‘Park Young-soo Special Prosecutor’ investigating the Park Geun-hye administration’s state affairs manipulation case. At that time, the Park Young-soo Special Prosecutor attempted to search the Blue House’s Security Office, Civil Affairs Office, and Policy Coordination Office to uncover suspicions of state affairs manipulation, but was blocked at the door and after a five-hour standoff, ultimately turned back.

After becoming Prosecutor General, there were two more occasions. On December 4, 2019, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office searched the Presidential Secretariat regarding allegations that the Civil Affairs Office of the Blue House had suppressed an inspection related to Yoo Jae-soo, former Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Busan, and obtained documents voluntarily after six hours. On January 10, 2020, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigating allegations of Blue House interference in the Ulsan mayoral election, conducted a search of the Blue House’s Secretary for Autonomy Development office. When the Blue House refused the search, the prosecution requested voluntary submission of documents, but the Blue House did not cooperate, claiming the scope of the search was not specified. Yoon, as Prosecutor General, approved and received reports on these searches. According to frontline prosecutors familiar with the situation, Yoon was very frustrated by the Blue House’s non-cooperation.

Under Korean criminal procedure law, the Blue House is classified as a ‘military secret location,’ and search and seizure cannot be conducted without the approval of the person in charge. Considering these legal restrictions, Yoon likely regarded the Blue House as an ‘insurmountable high wall’ during the three failed attempts to enter its premises. There is also an interpretation that Yoon felt the need for change after witnessing the secretive and corrupt scenes of wrongdoing inside the Blue House during the state affairs manipulation investigation. At that time, the Park Young-soo Special Prosecutor closely analyzed the internal structure of Blue House buildings while investigating how ‘Choi Seo-won’ (formerly Choi Soon-sil), the ‘shadow power,’ was able to assist former President Park Geun-hye secretly without the knowledge of Blue House staff. The National Intelligence Service’s special activity funds scandal was similar in nature.

Opposing voices have also emerged within the legal community. Lawyer Kim Jong-min, a former branch chief, criticized, "Having barely won the presidential election, isn’t it too idle? It would be sufficient to remodel and use the Blue House main building. Is it necessary to dig up Yongsan and cause such a fuss about the Ministry of National Defense moving during such a critical time?"

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