[Tonguidong 24 Hours] Why the Prize for the New Presidential Office Name Contest Is 6 Million Won

Breaking the Conventional Wisdom in 5·10 Units
"Meaning That the Core Power Region Has Shifted for 600 Years Since the Joseon Dynasty"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is holding a press conference on the relocation of the Blue House presidential office to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building at the press conference room of the Presidential Transition Committee, located in the annex of the Korea Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

"6 million KRW prize for the first-place winner in the public naming contest for the presidential office relocating to Yongsan."

The Blue House Relocation Task Force (TF), overseeing the move of the presidential office, has attracted attention by announcing the prize amount for the new office name contest. Considering the convention of grouping numbers in units of 3, 5, or 10, the figure of 6 million KRW is somewhat unconventional.

According to the TF and the Presidential Transition Committee on the 26th, the number "600" symbolizes the shift of the center of power after 600 years. A transition committee official stated, "The new presidential office is moving away from the foothills of Bugaksan after 600 years to establish the foundation of a 'new nation of the people.' The decision to set the first-place prize at 6 million KRW reflects this background."

The contest for the new presidential office name is ongoing on the Transition Committee's website and the "Blue House, Back to the People (Online Communication Center)." The total prize money amounts to 12 million KRW, including 6 million KRW for the grand prize, along with excellence and encouragement awards.

The current Blue House site has been the seat of power for nearly 600 years: from the founding of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392 until the start of Japanese colonial rule in 1910, totaling 518 years, and from Gyeongmudae, established at the founding of the government in 1948, to the present Blue House for 74 years. Yoon Han-hong, head of the Blue House Relocation TF, described it as "opening the symbol of power that had been closed for about 600 years to the people."

The number 600 ultimately converges on the word "people." President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who used slogans like "Yoon Seok-yeol raised by the people" and "We will uphold the will of the people" during his campaign and transition, plans to increase communication with the public in the Yongsan era, adopting "a new nation of the people" as the new government's slogan.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), President-elect Yoon also proposed naming the new presidential office "People's House," emphasizing that while the Blue House had symbolized power holders, the new office will be a place to mingle with the people.