The issue of relocating the Oval Office to Yongsan, Seoul has rapidly emerged as a ‘post-election black hole’. President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol directly announced the ‘relocation to Yongsan’ and said he would never enter the Blue House, but amid strong opposition, the Blue House and the Democratic Party (Democratic Party) are not cooperating before the relocation of the office, so confrontation between new and old powers Wires are forming. President-elect Yoon said to key staff members, “I will never meet President Moon Jae-in to ask about relocation costs,” and the current government’s hard-line attitude continued. It is an unfolding state.
“Isn’t it a hasty decision before Yongsan?”
On March 20th, President-elect Yoon said, “It is impossible to open the Blue House 100% if you go to Gwanghwamun, and once I received the report, I thought that it was almost a disaster for the citizens.” He added, “The Yongsan issue was not completely excluded from the beginning, but was considered as an alternative in the process of making the pledge.” The main content was revised 35 days after the announcement of the promise.
President-elect Yoon revealed the reform plan for the presidential office on February 13 and pointed out that “the current Blue House structure is a miniature version of the royal palace of the dynasty, resulting in a sense of authority and work inefficiency.” . The Seoul Government Complex or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office, located in Gwanghwamun, was listed as a candidate, but it was changed to the Ministry of National Defense as it faced security issues. Government offices located in Gwanghwamun are surrounded by high-rise buildings, and management of the surrounding area is not easy. In the case of the Ministry of National Defense, security facilities such as an underground bunker also acted as an added point.
There were also ‘revolting voices’ within the party. It requires speed control. Initially, the Ministry of National Defense stated, “On March 14, the Presidential Transition Committee (Transfer Committee) has requested a visit to the Ministry of National Defense and the establishment of a plan to vacate the main building of the Ministry of National Defense on the premise that the presidential office will be relocated to Yongsan.” Six days before the announcement of the promise. This is the reason why some are criticized as to whether the decision to relocate to the Ministry of National Defense has been made hastily.
As President-elect Yoon directly announced a promise to relocate the Oval Office to Yongsan, there is an atmosphere of gathering opinions within the party to some extent. An official from the elected party said, “The Yongsan site was not initially considered as the first priority, so information was not widely shared inside. That’s why the voice saying, ‘You have to approach Yongsan with caution’ came out of this.” “Currently, there is no problem as we are sharing enough information internally,” said this person.
But there are also negative opinions. According to the results of a poll conducted by Realmeter, an opinion polling agency, on 500 men and women over the age of 18 across the country on March 22 at the request of the ‘Media Herald’, 53.7% of the respondents objected to the relocation of the Yongsan Ministry of Defense building in Yongsan, the presidential office (see graph). . The vote in favor was 44.6%, less than half. However, in Seoul, 58.4% of the voters were in favor, surpassing those against (39.0%).
“Unlike Gwanghwamun, where various rallies are held to symbolize communication, there is little experience like this in Yongsan,” said Chae Jin-won, a professor at Kyunghee University’s Public Governance Institute. Professor Chae said, “In order to reduce the problem of the imperial president, it is necessary to improve laws, systems and practices, but there is also a question as to whether it is possible to simply change the ground.”
靑 “I am concerned about the security gap”
President Moon Jae-in speaks during a video conference held at the Cheong Wa Dae Yeomingwan on March 22. [사진 제공 · 청와대]President-elect Yoon also recognized the fact that he could face opposition by changing the details. Nevertheless, he said he would not give up his beliefs about relocating the Oval Office. At the announcement of the previous promise, he said, “In fact, there was no point in Gwanghwamun during the election process, but I promised to return the Blue House to the people after leaving the Blue House. Philosophy and determination are also important,” he said. The expectation that the public opinion for and against will be reversed as soon as the Blue House is opened also seems to have had an impact. It is predicted that positive public opinion will emerge on the first day of the opening of the Blue House. Kim Young-hwan, a special adviser to the president-elect, said in a phone call with Weekly Dong-a on March 23, “I expect that the atmosphere will change dramatically when the Blue House opens on May 10 (the beginning of Yoon’s term). Even before Yongsan, people with dissenting opinions will change their minds when they stop by the Blue House.” However, even if the Blue House is open, President-elect Yoon must stay in the temporary office at the beginning of his term. This is because the Blue House and the transition committee could not reach an agreement on the issue of reserve funds for relocation of the office. At the Cabinet meeting held on March 22, Yoon-elect’s party requested the use of reserve funds for the cost of relocating the office, but the Blue House rejected it, saying it was “concerned about a security gap” and encountered difficulties. The Blue House does not oppose the relocation of the Oval Office itself, but insists that the pace needs to be adjusted.
Park Soo-hyeon, chief of public communication at the Office of the President of the President, said at the Spring and Autumn Hall the day before, “President Moon Jae-in also promised the Gwanghwamun era during the previous presidential election, so I agree with the meaning of returning the Blue House to the people.” “The plans to relocate the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the presidential office and bodyguards seem unreasonable,” he said.
President-elect Yoon’s side protests, saying, “I can’t understand it.” In the end, in an interview with CBS Radio ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ on March 22, Kim Yong-hyeon, former chief of operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, belonging to the Blue House relocation task force (TF) under President-elect Yoon, said, “There is a security gap in the process of relocating the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense. obviously not Even though (North Korea) has threatened the safety of our people through dozens of missile launches, this government did not call the provocation a provocation. It is very disgusting for them to talk about security,” he said. Former general manager Kim is a strong candidate for the first head of security as Yoon-elect Yoon’s one-year senior at Chungam High School.
There are also observations that the situation may go in an unexpected direction as the powers of the old and the new are fighting one another. Calculations are complicated even when considering the shortcomings and disadvantages of the June 1 national simultaneous local elections. Special Advisor Kim Young-hwan said, “If the passport handles the budget as soon as possible, even if problems arise in the future, the responsibility will fall on President-elect Yoon. “The current response is not helping the Democrats either,” he said. Advisor Kim said, “It seems that they are reacting emotionally after losing the presidential election by a short distance, but it’s a very handshake.”
Neglect of responding to COVID-19 and economic crisis
Some voices are wary of the spread of the controversy over the relocation of the presidential office in Yongsan. In an interview with KBS Radio’s ‘Choi Kyung-young’s Strongest Current Affairs’ on March 24, the representative of People’s Power Lee Jun-seok said, “If the (current situation) prolongs, we must (to the Democratic Party) deliberately address various issues with the new government with the ‘June 1 local election in mind’ I will ask you directly, ‘Isn’t it supposed to make ‘?'” he said.
Another problem is that disputes are spreading due to the △corona 19 response △economic problem △personnel issue, which should be focused on during the transition period. At a staff meeting on March 24, President Moon said, “I am the soon-to-be president, and Yoon-elect will be the new president. What kind of negotiation is necessary for two people to meet, greet, give thanks, and exchange words that might be helpful? I want the elected person to decide for themselves without listening to others,” he said. But the deadlock continues.
President-elect Kim Eun-hye, spokeswoman for the election, said, “It is very regrettable that President-elect Yoon’s judgment was problematic and that his advisors mentioned it as if it had clouded his judgment.” He also pointed out, “In a situation where the handover between the (new and old) governments is not smooth, it is difficult to agree with the evaluation of the meeting between the two of them as ‘a place to share good wishes’ at a moment when it is essential to respond to COVID-19 and the economic crisis.” .
Correspondent Jinryeol Choi [email protected]
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