Yoon's Life in Tongui-dong Inevitable After Inauguration... When Will the 'Yongsan Era' Begin?

No Current Plans for Remodeling Tongui-dong
Spokesperson Draws Line on "Move Within July" Question, Saying "Timing Unknown"

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 Kum Boryeong] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is more likely to open the Tongui-dong era before the Yongsan era. This is because, as he has clashed with President Moon Jae-in over the 'relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan,' it has become inevitable that the president-elect's office will remain in Tongui-dong for the time being even after May 10. If the two sides do not narrow their differences before taking office, the Yongsan era is expected to be possible at the earliest around late June to July.

Kim Eun-hye, the spokesperson for the president-elect, said on the 22nd at a press conference held at the Presidential Transition Committee in the Korea Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, "Based on the situation until yesterday, I think we should stay in Tongui-dong for the time being." This followed the Moon Jae-in administration's official opposition to the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan the day before.

Since the president-elect will officially become the president on May 10 when the term begins, security is necessary. The Tongui-dong office lacks bulletproof glass and has weak eavesdropping prevention facilities, so there are opinions that remodeling is needed. However, currently, there are no plans to remodel the Tongui-dong office.

After the press conference, when asked about remodeling during a meeting with reporters, Spokesperson Kim responded with a question, "Why do we need to remodel?" He also emphasized, "Rather than remodeling and budget for the (Tongui-dong office), it is more important to allocate the budget to actually compensate small business owners and small self-employed people who suffered huge losses due to following national administrative orders."

If President-elect Yoon moves the office immediately after inauguration, it is highly likely to be no earlier than late June or July. Spokesperson Kim explained, "We need to see after starting presidential duties," adding, "But since the precedent we have followed so far has been one or two months, I think it will be done within that principle." However, when asked if this meant the move would be completed within July, he drew a line by answering, "The timing is not known yet."

The Ministry of National Defense also reinforced this inference by announcing that the chain relocation due to the presidential office move to Yongsan would require at least about four weeks. In the National Defense Committee's current affairs report to the National Assembly on the same day, the Ministry stated, "Considering the contract period required for moving (2 days) and the minimum actual moving period (about 4 weeks), it is limited to move the entire Ministry of National Defense main building in a short period."

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