By Kang Hyun-kyung
President Lee Myung-bak instructed his chief aide to re-examine the plan to construct a retirement house in a posh southern Seoul area Monday after it drew a backlash from opposition parties.
The proposed residence is a 2,600-square-meter house to be built in Naegok-dong that will accommodate Lee, his family, aides and bodyguards.
“During a meeting with senior presidential secretaries, Lee expressed deep regret that the retirement residence plan has upset people,” Choe Guem-nak, senior presidential secretary for public affairs, said in a statement.
Lee instructed Yim Tae-hee, presidential chief of staff, to chair a meeting to discuss the matter and come up with a conclusion as soon as possible, Choe said.
The decision came amid mounting pressure on Lee to take steps to prevent negative fallout from his management of the nation, as well as the upcoming by-elections.
Lee has already been dealing with allegations that two of his aides received bribes from a businessman and a lobbyist, who both worked for a savings bank.
This dealt a blow to the President as his circle’s ethics were questioned.
Meanwhile, Lee’s chief bodyguard offered to resign to take responsibility over the retirement housing controversy.
He tendered his resignation amid claims that the government would be wasting taxpayers’ money in building security facilities at the retirement property as the land set aside was excessively spacious.
Lee’s instructions come as Chairman Hong Joon-pyo of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) increased pressure on Cheong Wa Dae to rethink the housing plan.
During a meeting with senior GNP lawmakers, Hong said he told the presidential office to scrap the project. Other senior GNP members were also concerned about the plan as it could hurt the ruling party candidate in the Seoul mayoral election if Lee pushes ahead with his original ideas.
Recent polls show that GNP candidate Na Kyung-won is in a neck-and-neck race with Park Won-soon, the unified candidate of the opposition camp.
The presidential retirement housing plan has become an issue because of the high price tag for its construction and tax evasion allegations involving Lee’s son, who purchased the land on behalf of his father.
Opposition lawmakers have raised suspicions that Lee’s son could have signed a bogus contract in order to evade taxes, given the fact that he paid less than its actual value. They also pointed out that the cost of the land for Lee’s security facilities was 16 times that of the late President Roh Moo-hyun’s.