President Moon: "Yoon's Office Relocation, I Find It Inappropriate... No Public Opinion Gathering"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in expressed his personal disapproval of the plan by President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's team to relocate the presidential office to Yongsan.

On the 27th, during a JTBC broadcast titled "Moon Jae-in's Five Years," in a conversation with former anchor Sohn Seok-hee, President Moon pointed out, "Moving the presidential office is a matter of national long-term planning, yet there has been no public consultation on where would be appropriate."

President Moon said, "During this regime change, when our security crisis is at its peak, pushing forward with demands like 'Leave the Ministry of National Defense by the end of March, vacate the rooms,' and 'We will start work from May 10' is truly dangerous in my view," adding, "Decisions and ways of handling things that suggest 'We cannot stay even a day at the Blue House' are hard to accept."

However, he also stated, "Since the new government is determined to push this forward as if it were their 'No. 1 national agenda,' such a move should not cause major conflicts between the old and new powers," and "Our government cannot help but cooperate to minimize any security gaps in national governance."

Although President Moon had pledged to relocate the presidential office, he did not carry out the plan. He explained, "(Not relocating) was a good decision," and "That pledge was about moving away from the secluded Blue House, where even the Chief Presidential Secretary under the Park Geun-hye administration did not know where the president was, and entering among the people."

He further explained, "I actively visited the field, dining with young people or having 'hof (time),' so the image of the secluded Blue House disappeared," and said, "(The opposition) simply framed the secluded Blue House behavior from their era onto us."

Regarding criticisms about the low number of press conferences and lack of communication, he responded, "Given the circumstances we faced, we communicated as much as possible."