[2022 National Audit] Presidential Office Spent 1 Billion KRW Solely on Purchasing Refrigerators, Sofas, and Chairs

Jeon Yong-gi "Where is President Yoon's will to save budget by maximizing use of existing items?"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Since President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration in May, the contract amount for furniture and other items purchased by the Presidential Secretariat and the Presidential Security Service through the Public Procurement Service's Nara Marketplace has reached approximately 1 billion KRW.

On the 11th, the office of Jeon Yong-gi, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced this in a press release. According to the office, major items purchased by the Presidential Secretariat included large refrigerators, sofas, chairs, and digital cameras, while the Presidential Security Service also purchased X-ray cargo scanners, security cameras, bug detectors, and mobile phones after the relocation.

When President Yoon moved the presidential office in May, he instructed, "Since the relocation costs are taxpayers' money, minimize them." At that time, a presidential office official said, "We are moving all the furniture used in the Blue House Yeomin-gwan and the main building to the Yongsan presidential office," adding, "We are moving everything that can be moved, including tables, chairs, computers, shredders, refrigerators, coat hangers, and even trash cans." He also said, "We intend to continue using items that have passed their useful life if possible," emphasizing that "the purpose is budget savings."

However, Jeon Yong-gi's office inquired with the Presidential Secretariat about the "reallocation of assets previously used at the Blue House," but the Secretariat explained that due to "the institution's special nature and security reasons," they could not disclose how the items moved from the Blue House and Yeomin-gwan were handled.

There are concerns that more items may have been newly purchased, considering items brought in independently by the presidential office without going through the Public Procurement Service, as well as additional items for the new residence ahead of occupancy.

Jeon said, "Where has President Yoon's will to save the budget by using existing items as much as possible gone?" and added, "It was not a lie but a fact that he was unaware of the concept of reuse and sharing (Anabada)."

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