Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Yoon's relocation plan to Yongsan to gain momentum
Presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee speaks during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
Partial budget for presidential office relocation plan to be approved Wednesday
By Nam Hyun-woo
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate the presidential office to Seoul's Yongsan District is expected to pick up speed, as the current Cabinet is set to approve a portion of the budget for the move in an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“President Moon Jae-in instructed the approval of a budget related to the presidential office relocation,” presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said, Tuesday. “The government will hold an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and will approve the proposal of financing the relocation using the state reserve fund.”
Following the March 28 meeting between Moon and Yoon, the President expressed his intention to “thoroughly review and cooperate” on the president-elect's proposal to use the state reserve fund to finance the cost of setting up a new presidential office in the defense ministry compound in Yongsan.
A day earlier, the government held a meeting between ministries related to the presidential office relocation, but did not come to a conclusion, and the proposal was not on the table during in the regular Cabinet meeting that took place on Tuesday.
The size of the budget was not revealed, but it is assumed to stand at between 31 billion won ($25.6 million) and 36 billion won. Reportedly, the budget also covers the costs for moving the defense ministry headquarters to the nearby JCS headquarters.
Before their March 28 meeting, Moon had opposed Yoon's presidential office relocation plan, citing a potential national security vacuum. To provide enough space for the new presidential office at the Ministry of National Defense building, the ministry will have to move to the nearby JCS headquarters, and the JCS will also have move to other locations.
It appears that the two sides may have reached the compromise by starting with moving branches that are not related to military exercises. A Cheong Wa Dae official said, “The two sides have narrowed their differences regarding the national security vacuum.”
According to Yoon's plan, the total cost for the presidential office relocation will reach 49.6 billion won ($40.93 million), 11.8 billion won of which will be used for moving the defense ministry to the JCS headquarters.
Regarding the remainder of Yoon's budget, it is possible that Moon could hold an additional Cabinet meeting to approve them. The Cheong Wa Dae official said, “The two sides will continue to engage in talks,” on whether to hold an additional Cabinet meeting.
Regardless of the budget, chances are slim for Yoon to keep his pledge to start his presidency on May 10 from the new presidential office due to time and other constraints.
Yoon's presidential office relocation team had estimated that moving the defense ministry and the JCS, as stated in Yoon's plan, would take six to eight weeks. They had sought to receive Cabinet approval by March 25.
Yoon's presidential transition committee said Tuesday it will hold a contest to get public recommendations on the new presidential office within this month.