Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Yoon faces growing opposition to Cheong Wa Dae relocation
Six lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea hold a press conference in front of the defense ministry in Seoul, Friday, urging President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to scrap his plan to relocate the presidential office to the ministry compound. Yonhap
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
With the defense ministry compound emerging as the most likely site for the new presidential office and residence, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's office relocation plan is facing a strong backlash, due to concerns that the move would compromise national security and waste taxpayers' money.
During his election campaign, Yoon vowed to open the “new Gwanghwamun era” by working out of the Seoul Government Complex so as to depart from the country's legacy of imperial presidencies and thereby communicate better with the people and press. However, his transition team has since had second thoughts, citing the lack space for required security personnel in the complex ― and has been considering the foreign ministry building and the defense ministry compound, with the latter seen as offering certain advantages in terms of security.
The foreign ministry building, located next to the Government Complex in Jongno District, is occupied solely by the ministry, while the defense ministry sits next to U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan.
“The presidential relocation to the defense ministry could cost over 1 trillion won ($825 billion), but the transition team does not seem to have figured that out,” Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said during a radio interview, Friday. Kim is a retired four-star Army general who served as a deputy commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
The government estimates that relocating the presidential office and residence to the defense ministry compound would cost 50 billion won ($41 million), while relocating it to the foreign ministry building would cost double that, 100 billion won.
“The government estimate might be the costs covering mainly the remodeling of his office. There are 10 military units, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), inside the compound. Constructing a new building for the JCS could cost up to 300 billion won, as it also needs to set up advanced security facilities, such as an underground bunker. The relocation of the defense ministry is also estimated to require over 100 billion won in funds. In addition, if the military units are relocated, their housing and welfare facilities will need to be set up again as well,” Kim said.
“The President-elect said he wants to move out of Cheong Wa Dae for better communication, but moving into a military fortress means deepening the lack of communication,” he said.
Six DPK lawmakers who belong to the National Assembly's National Defense Committee held a press conference in front of the defense ministry later in the day, urging Yoon to withdraw his relocation plan.
“The chain of relocations of the defense ministry and the JCS, caused by the commander-in-chief, could hurt military readiness. In addition, the possible security vacuum will trouble him throughout his entire presidency,” they said.
The relocation plan comes as North Korea is expected to test an intercontinental ballistic missile on the occasion of its founder Kim Il-sung's 110th birthday on April 15, prompting fears that the South Korean military may not be able to deal with Pyongyang's provocation properly because the defense ministry and the JCS will be preoccupied with moving out.
In addition, the South Korean and U.S. militaries are scheduled to hold an annual combined exercise next month, so the relocation to the defense ministry is feared to disrupt the exercise, which the President-elect has stressed the importance of in terms of strengthening deterrence against Pyongyang's growing nuclear threat.
"There are obvious reasons that military facilities have been concentrated in the ministry compound. It is unpredictable what fallout could take place after the facilities are scattered," a ministry official said.
Lee Jae-oh, a standing adviser of Yoon's People Power Party, said, also on Friday, that the abrupt emergence of Yongsan as the most likely site for the relocation may be based on geomancy, a set of ancient theories guiding the auspicious placement of buildings based on topography, known as “pungsu-jiri” in Korean.
Presidential transition committee members inspect the foreign ministry building in Seoul, Friday, as it is being considered as one of the candidate sites for hosting the new presidential office. Yonhap
“Until earlier this month, Yoon had been pledging to usher in the 'new Gwanghwamun era,' but now he is planning to move to Yongsan out of the blue, which is ridiculous,” Lee said in another radio interview. Lee is a close confidant of conservative former President Lee Myung-bak.
“At this critical moment in terms of security, he is seeking to kick out the defense ministry and occupy its site. We cannot figure out the reason for his decision other than his belief in geomancy,” he added.
Kim Chong-in, the former chief of Yoon's election committee, told Yonhap News that it did not make sense that Yoon was wasting energy on such an insignificant issue.
“Rather than moving his residence, he should prioritize how to help small business owners who were hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Amid growing criticism of Yoon's unilateral pursuit of moving the presidential residence and office to the defense ministry compound, his spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said that there should be a consensus on the issue because it was one of his most important pledges.
“We will go through the process of collecting various opinions and holding debates and discussions,” she told Friday's briefing.
The transition committee carried out on-site inspections of the two ministries on Friday afternoon.
Rep. Kwon Young-se, vice chairman of Yoon's transition committee, told reporters at the defense ministry that they will take various factors into consideration before making a final determination, including whether the facilities are suitable for the work of the presidential office, and continuity in the work of the foreign and defense ministries.
"We'll also look at cost issues, and whether it will be convenient for nearby residents and the public," Kwon said.