Yoon Geon-young "Relocation to Yongsan Defense Ministry Building? Unconvincing... Difficult to Communicate with the Public"

"Ministry of National Defense, a Kind of War Command Center... Budget of Hundreds of Billions Required for Strategic Asset Relocation"

Yoon Geon-young, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] It has been reported that President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is actively considering relocating the presidential office from the Blue House to the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan, Seoul. In response, Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the plan as "completely unacceptable."

Yoon, who served as the first director of the National Situation Room under the Moon Jae-in administration, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 17th and stated, "The Ministry of National Defense is essentially a war command center," adding, "If the Ministry of National Defense is relocated, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and surrounding facilities would have to move in succession."

He continued, "There are highly strategic assets within the Ministry of National Defense. Adjacent to the Ministry are U.S. Forces Korea facilities and other facilities that are difficult to mention on air," and pointed out, "Relocating all of these would require a budget close to several hundred billion won."

Yoon also said that the plan to move to the Ministry of National Defense building is far from the intended purpose of "strengthening communication with the people." He said, "Moving the Blue House office from its current location is meant to facilitate communication with the public," adding, "The Ministry of National Defense site is not a place for communication. It doesn't make sense. The priorities seem reversed."

He added, "Given the current crisis in people's livelihoods due to COVID-19, is relocating the presidential office the top priority in state administration? Whether it is about where to live or where to place the desk, I think this is not that important," he said.

Regarding the cancellation of the luncheon meeting between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon the day before, Yoon said, "It is very regrettable," and explained, "This was not a meeting to set conditions, establish agendas, or negotiate deals, but rather a candid meeting between the current and future presidents to freely discuss overall state affairs. However, some within the People Power Party seem to have interpreted it as a conditional negotiation."