Public consensus needed to pursue relocation of presidential office
Controversy is growing over President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate his presidential office from the current site at Cheong Wa Dae. Yoon originally declared he would open "an era of Gwanghwamun" if elected. However, the compound of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan has emerged as the more promising candidate site for the new presidential office, due mainly to issues relevant to security and costs.
"We have yet to reach a conclusion over the matter and are reviewing multiple alternatives," Yoon's spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing Thursday. "But it is certain that there are zero chances for the President-elect to move into the current presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae."
This has invited a strong backlash from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). "The land in Yongsan is replete with a history of humiliation, where armed forces of Qing Dynasty and Imperial Japan were stationed. Is it proper for the presidential office to be relocated there?" Rep. Yun Ho-jung in charge of the DPK's emergency committee said, Friday.
DPK Rep. Youn Kun-young also said, "Relocation of the presidential office has been attempted to promote communication with the people. But the defense ministry's compound is not suitable for such purposes. It is nonsense."
Wary of growing public backlash over the plan to relocate the presidential office, Yoon's transition team has allegedly decided to postpone its plan to announce the relocation site Friday. Critics have cited Cheong Wa Dae as a symbol of the "imperial" presidency, given its secluded location on the slope of a mountain north of Gwanghwamun.
It is desirable for Yoon not to move into the Cheong Wa Dae to facilitate his communications with the people as he promised during the presidential campaign. But the people are now perplexed due to the conflicting stances regarding the new location. The transition team should give appropriate and clear explanations to the public on the matter.
Criticism is also flaring up over the plan to move the presidential office immediately in a hasty manner. The nation's Constitution stipulates that "The President is head of state who represents the nation to foreign states." This well demonstrates the weight of the presidency. And it is not appropriate for Yoon to relocate the presidential office hastily. He needs to take time and all possible factors into account through sufficient consultations with top-level experts.
Before Yoon, Moon also pledged to open the Gwanghwamun age in his 2017 inaugural speech. Yet he renounced the plan in January 2019. At that time, experts cited difficulties in terms of guarding the President, security and costs. Yet, most of all, they said, "the new office is not meant for the current president only." Unless the current plan undergoes sufficient debate, the head of state after Yoon may attempt to move it to another place. This would mean a humiliation for the nation. Thus, though it may take time, the plan for relocating the presidential office needs a proper process to extract public consensus.
Controversy is growing over President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate his presidential office from the current site at Cheong Wa Dae. Yoon originally declared he would open "an era of Gwanghwamun" if elected. However, the compound of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan has emerged as the more promising candidate site for the new presidential office, due mainly to issues relevant to security and costs.
"We have yet to reach a conclusion over the matter and are reviewing multiple alternatives," Yoon's spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing Thursday. "But it is certain that there are zero chances for the President-elect to move into the current presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae."
This has invited a strong backlash from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). "The land in Yongsan is replete with a history of humiliation, where armed forces of Qing Dynasty and Imperial Japan were stationed. Is it proper for the presidential office to be relocated there?" Rep. Yun Ho-jung in charge of the DPK's emergency committee said, Friday.
DPK Rep. Youn Kun-young also said, "Relocation of the presidential office has been attempted to promote communication with the people. But the defense ministry's compound is not suitable for such purposes. It is nonsense."
Wary of growing public backlash over the plan to relocate the presidential office, Yoon's transition team has allegedly decided to postpone its plan to announce the relocation site Friday. Critics have cited Cheong Wa Dae as a symbol of the "imperial" presidency, given its secluded location on the slope of a mountain north of Gwanghwamun.
It is desirable for Yoon not to move into the Cheong Wa Dae to facilitate his communications with the people as he promised during the presidential campaign. But the people are now perplexed due to the conflicting stances regarding the new location. The transition team should give appropriate and clear explanations to the public on the matter.
Criticism is also flaring up over the plan to move the presidential office immediately in a hasty manner. The nation's Constitution stipulates that "The President is head of state who represents the nation to foreign states." This well demonstrates the weight of the presidency. And it is not appropriate for Yoon to relocate the presidential office hastily. He needs to take time and all possible factors into account through sufficient consultations with top-level experts.
Before Yoon, Moon also pledged to open the Gwanghwamun age in his 2017 inaugural speech. Yet he renounced the plan in January 2019. At that time, experts cited difficulties in terms of guarding the President, security and costs. Yet, most of all, they said, "the new office is not meant for the current president only." Unless the current plan undergoes sufficient debate, the head of state after Yoon may attempt to move it to another place. This would mean a humiliation for the nation. Thus, though it may take time, the plan for relocating the presidential office needs a proper process to extract public consensus.
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