New South Korea President Wants to Move Out of Traditional Office & It Could Cost Over S$1 Billion

By
Lin Jiawen
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It’s not every day when you see a country’s leader breaking traditions, much less doing it in a way that’ll cost more money than some of us may ever get to see in our lives.

But it’s happening in South Korea, at least if everything goes to their new President-elect’s plans.

Yoon Suk-yeol, who won South Korea’s presidential election earlier this month on 9 March, announced his plans to move his office so that it would be more accessible.

He also mentioned that he will be opening the Blue House, which is the executive office and official residence of the President of South Korea, to the public.

Basically, their Blue House is like the White House in the US lah.

According to Yoon’s team, the Blue House executive mansion has turned into a “royal palace” of sorts over the years as it has been isolated and enclosed by forests and tight security.

As of now, only specific areas of the Blue House are open to members of the public. Every vehicle that passes the area also has to undergo a security check.

The Blue House was last renovated in the 1970s, and there is a considerably large distance between the main presidential office and the secretaries’ workplace. Some have said that this “hampers interaction” between both parties.

“We are looking to move out of the Blue House, which had been a symbol of absolute power in our history, and return that power to the people,” Kim Eun-hye, a spokeswoman for Yoon, told a briefing on Friday.

As mentioned by Yoon’s team, carrying out the relocation will improve Yoon’s public access, his communication with his aides. So basically greater efficiency lah.

And Yoon’s not the first one to have such plans.

Previously, South Korea’s outgoing President Moon Jae-in also announced a similar initiative, but it eventually did not come to fruition due to security and logistical restraints.

Where the President is Moving To

Currently, there are two locations that Yoon’s transition committee are considering. The two locations are a foreign ministry building in the downtown district of Gwanghwamun, as well as the defence ministry complex in nearby Yongsan.

Campaign officials revealed that although Yoon was initially more inclined towards choosing the building at Gwanghwamun, he then considered the military compound due to the additional security provided.

As Yoon will be sworn in as South Korea’s new President in less than two months’ time, the formal announcement regarding the new location of his residence may be issued as early as this upcoming weekend.

He Moved Because of… Feng Shui?

Although the reason behind Yoon’s decision to move his office and residence seems straightforward enough, some officials from the Democratic Party have another theory.

Er, ya, they think he wants to move because of the Blue House’s bad feng shui.

And it seems like it actually does.

Reuters interviewed Jee Jong-hag, who is head of a major feng shui society in South Korea.

He said the Blue House is “badly located”, and this sentiment is echoed further by how many ancient kings chose to live and work at other locations.

Apart from that, out of the six presidents in South Korea’s 25 years as a democracy, four of them have either been jailed or ended up dying by suicide after they left office.

Coincidence? To some people, maybe not.

“I do see the link between the site and the ill-fated presidents,” Jee commented.

“But Yongsan is a blessed spot, open and surrounded by gentle mountains. It’s an incomparably humble yet auspicious piece of land compared to the Blue House location.”

So basically the Blue House is kind of suay lah.

Additionally, in the run-up to the election, Yoon was accused by Democrats of having a shaman be involved in his campaign.

However, Yoon denied these accusations and said that he “knew the man as a Buddhist priest”.

The Move as a Waste of Resources

Another factor that Yoon has come under fire for is the potential cost of the move.

As expected, the move will require money.

As such, Democrats have taken the opportunity to call Yoon out for his plans, citing that the costs could amount to 1 trillion won (approximately S$1.12 billion), proving that the move would be a complete waste of precious resources.

According to Yonhap News Agency in Korea, the cost of moving into the defence ministry could cost around 50 billion won (approximately S$56 million) based on predictions by the interior ministry.

In response to that, Yoon’s spokeswoman dismissed those accusations, claiming that they were projections that had “gone too far”.

She also reassured the public by announcing that Yoon’s team will be making a decision based on the public’s consensus, but also ensure that they will not be wasting taxpayers’ money.

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South Koreans’ Opinions

In response to their new President’s plans, the citizens of South Korea seem to be divided in their opinions.

Some mentioned that he should take factors such as traffic jams and other possible inconveniences into accounts, while other expressed support for the move under the condition that he was not influenced by a shaman.

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Featured Image: Luke W. Choi / Shutterstock.com

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Lin Jiawen
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