Lee Jong-seop "Office Relocation Possible with 300 Billion Won"... Heated Debate at Hearing

Rep. Gidongmin Rebuts Candidate Lee's Remarks: "Party Estimates Result at 1.2 Trillion Won"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] A heated debate broke out over the cost of relocating the presidential office during the confirmation hearing for Defense Minister nominee Lee Jong-seop.

On the 4th, during the National Assembly confirmation hearing, when Democratic Party lawmaker Ki Dong-min asked about the costs required for the sequential relocation of the Ministry of National Defense, nominee Lee said, "I believe it can be done with around 300 billion won," adding, "The most expensive part is relocating the Joint Chiefs of Staff building, but since we have not entered the design phase, it is difficult to determine the exact budget."

Lawmaker Ki refuted the estimated cost of around 300 billion won suggested by nominee Lee. Ki stated, "Former spokesperson Kim Eun-hye of the Presidential Transition Committee announced that the cost of relocating the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be about 120 billion won, but it will cost more than 220 billion won," emphasizing, "After our party's estimation and my own review, at least 1.2 trillion won will be required."

Furthermore, Lawmaker Ki pointed out that relocating the tanks and armored vehicles held by the 1st Security Group would cost between 70 billion and 100 billion won, but since they cannot be moved to Yongsan, they have no choice but to remain stationed at their current location. He also criticized President-elect Yoon's plan to convert the area into a park within six months, citing that creating Yongsan Park would take considerable time and incur unpredictable costs due to contamination removal and other factors.

In response to these criticisms, nominee Lee said, "I agree with many of the cost items, but I have somewhat different views regarding the relocation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the security unit, the relocation of tanks and armored vehicles, and the creation of Yongsan Citizen's Park within six months." He explained, "We tried to assess how much budget would be required to reintegrate departments into the Ministry of National Defense annex, but since we have not yet decided where the Cyber Command and Psychological Operations Unit will be relocated, it is difficult to determine the budget."

Committee Chairman Min Hong-chul said regarding the relocation budget, "Although it is said that there will be no security gaps during the sequential relocation of the Ministry of National Defense, this is a matter directly related to national security and must be carried out under a meticulous plan," and instructed to prepare a separate report.

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