Source: Yonhap News
It has been confirmed that the budget related to the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan includes a budget for improving the living conditions of military personnel.
According to data confirmed by the Ministry of National Defense by the Democratic Party’s Office of Rep. Yang Ki-dae, about 2.42 billion won from the budget allocated for the construction of new dormitories for soldiers will be used to integrate the departments of the Ministry of Defense, which were dispersed before the presidential office, into an annex.
Of the approximately 14.3 billion won that the Ministry of Strategy and Finance approved for conversion in connection with the consolidation and relocation of the Ministry of National Defense on July 18, 690 million won was the budget allocated for the basic survey design cost and detailed design cost for the barracks dormitory improvement project.
Also, it was found that 1.02 billion won was allocated for the ancillary facilities, and 710 million won was allocated for the same purpose for the improvement of the residence and executive residence.
In response, the Ministry of National Defense explained, “We decided to divert the money after consulting with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance with the amount prepared by collecting the unused amount of the cost of designing the facility, such as for the housing improvement project for soldiers.”
“As the budget is for design purposes, even if the budget is used for the integration and redeployment of the Ministry of National Defense, it is judged that there will be no hindrance to the promotion of housing improvement projects for soldiers.”