Lee’s private home likely to be rebuilt for use as retirement residence

President Lee Myung-bak plans to have his private house reconstructed to strengthen security features of the building so that it can be used as his residence after he leaves office early next year, an official said Wednesday.

Lee has said he will use his Nonhyun-dong home in southern Seoul as his retirement residence, after a project to build a new one on the outskirts of the city fell apart last year following revelations of irregularities, including the use of his son's name in the purchase of the site.

Aides have said Lee had pushed for the new retirement home project because the existing Nonhyun-dong house has holes in security, its space is not large enough to accommodate guards and it was too difficult to purchase land around the house to build security facilities there.

"For now, the Nonhyun-dong house is vulnerable in security terms," an official said. "We are going to have it rebuilt and change its structure in the near future so that it can accommodate security personnel."

"The private residence is run-down as it was built in the 1980s, and we have security difficulties there as buildings have gone up around it," presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha told reporters.

A report has been filed with a local office to tear down the house, and reconstruction will begin after administrative approval comes around mid-March, officials said.

The presidential office has also purchased a site for security personnel facilities further away from Lee's home because land near the residence was too expensive, the spokesman said. (Yonhap)