Assembly's main building will be renovated

Seen is a statue in front of the main building of the National Assembly. / Korea Times file

By Park Ji-won

The National Assembly is drawing up a draft plan to renovate its main building for the first time since it was built in 1975.

According to Assembly officials Monday, Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and Assembly Secretary General Yoo Ihn-tae are having a discussion with architects to come up with a renovation plan for the main building.

“Moon is being briefed by experts and thinking of forming a basic plan for the building's renovation. Assembly Speaker Moon and Secretary General Yoo will form a taskforce,” said Lee Kye-sung, spokesman of the National Assembly speaker.

The details of the plan have not been finalized over when and how the building will be transformed.

The Assembly wanted to build a memorial hall at the site to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the establishment of South Korea's provisional government. However, the secretary general reportedly postponed the plan in favor of an overhaul of the entire complex rather than transforming one building.

Last week, five experts including architect Kim Won came to the Assembly and conducted research to set a plan for the renovation of the building.

Kim is one of the key figures who made a district plan for Yeouido, where the Assembly is located, in the 1960s.

The Assembly added another building for lawmakers in 2012 and plans to build a press center by December 2019.

The main Assembly building, which is used for Assembly meetings and press conferences, was built in 1975 on former President Park Chung-hee's orders.