[Exclusive] Presidential Office Finalizes Selection of CI Developer... Public Reveal Within the Year

- The Presidential Office signed a contract the day before with the developer of the Pyeongchang Olympic symbol... Finalizing preliminary discussions

- Difficulties until the appointment of the Presidential Office Public Relations Planning Secretary... "We will present a symbol that embodies the meaning of the new era"

On the 16th, one day before President Yoon Suk-yeol's 100th day in office, the presidential office building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul is shown. President Yoon, emphasizing the elimination of authoritarianism, moved the seat of government from the former Blue House to Yongsan. With the president's office relocated to Yongsan, the Blue House has been fully opened to the public.

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The CI (Corporate Identity) symbolizing the Yongsan Presidential Office will be unveiled within the year. The development of the Presidential Office CI will be handled by the company that produced the official symbol of the 2015 Gwangju Summer Universiade and the main symbolic sculpture of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. It has been about four months since the new government moved the presidential office from the Blue House to Yongsan and announced plans to create a new CI, and the preliminary discussion phase has progressed significantly.

According to the Presidential Office and government departments on the 29th, the Presidential Secretariat signed a contract the day before with the exhibition and design specialist company P& for the "Development of the Republic of Korea Presidential Office Symbol System." A Presidential Office official said, "(The CI development plan) took more time than initially expected during the contracting process," adding, "We plan to create a symbol that everyone can relate to, embodying the meaning of the new era following the move to Yongsan, and present it to the public as soon as possible."

Earlier, after the presidential inauguration ceremony in June, the Presidential Office began developing an independent CI to give the "Yongsan Era Presidential Office" its own identity instead of using the Taegeuk emblem. This was to abolish the Blue House name and logo and convey a visual image that communicates with the public in the Yongsan era and the new government era.

However, the final selection process for the company to develop the CI was delayed. Although proposals were received from companies wishing to participate in the development and a preferred negotiator was selected early by an evaluation committee including Presidential Office officials, detailed coordination took more than two months. Internally, the absence of a Public Relations Planning Secretary at the Presidential Office was also a factor. President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Lee Ki-jung, a senior reporter at YTN, as the Public Relations Planning Secretary only in early last month.

P&, responsible for developing the Presidential Office CI, showed higher competitiveness in terms of price compared to other competing companies. The company that competed until the last moment was CDAR Associates, which produced the brand "I·SEOUL·U" created during former Mayor Park Won-soon's administration of Seoul City, and there was reportedly little difference in quality evaluation. Some speculate that after Mayor Oh Se-hoon's inauguration, Seoul City's intention to abolish the brand may have significantly influenced the selection of the Presidential Office CI developer.

P& highlighted its experience producing the official symbol of the Gwangju Summer Universiade and the main symbolic sculpture of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. It also made headlines as the first domestic exhibition and design company to win the contract for installing overseas national pavilions at an Expo.

The Presidential Office stated that since various discussions have already been held with the company, it is possible to reveal the new government's symbolism to the public before the end of the year. The new CI will include not just a symbol representing a building but an image representing the presidential office, incorporating President Yoon's governance philosophy and operational direction. The Blue House emblem, created during the Kim Young-sam administration and used since, underwent multiple revisions under the pretext of "differentiation" with each regime change, but it retained the image of the main building symbolizing the Blue House and a rigid typeface, limiting its ability to shed an old and authoritative image.

The cost invested in producing the new CI is expected to be somewhat lower than the initially budgeted amount by the Presidential Office. However, since additional costs are incurred due to the relocation of the Presidential Office, opposition parties are expected to criticize that "taxes that should not have been spent initially" were used. Although President Yoon ordered a "complete withdrawal of the plan" to build a new state guesthouse near the Yongsan Presidential Office, the ruling and opposition parties are still engaged in disputes. A Presidential Office official explained, "Since the decision was made to relocate the office to realize an open Presidential Office that communicates, it shows the will to break away from the existing Blue House space and symbols that were disconnected from the public," adding, "Thoroughly eliminating the remnants of the imperial presidency was the President's pledge."