Presidential Office Refutes Opposition's Claim of "1 Trillion Won Relocation Cost" as "Arbitrarily Inflated Amount"

Presidential Office: "Yoon Kept 청 Open Promise That Moon Could Not Keep... Intent to Undermine Significance"

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 stage of state affairs 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. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 30th, the Presidential Office refuted the Democratic Party of Korea's claim that the total cost incurred by relocating the Presidential Office to Yongsan would exceed 1 trillion won according to their own estimates, calling it a "figure arbitrarily inflated by the Democratic Party."

In a press release that evening, the Presidential Office stated, "The 1 trillion won claimed by the Democratic Party includes costs executed by various ministries as needed, projects initiated since the previous Moon Jae-in administration, the canceled construction cost of the national guesthouse, expenses for the replacement site of the U.S. military residual base and the Joint Chiefs of Staff relocation, as well as maintenance and management costs of existing facilities."

Regarding defense-related budgets, they argued, "Costs such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff relocation and the replacement site for the U.S. military residual base are not included in the budget proposal and are merely unilateral claims without any basis."

They also pointed out, "'The relocation of the Yongsan U.S. military base and park creation' (48.34 billion won) has been pursued since the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2004," adding, "It is difficult to accept the Democratic Party's claim that the project costs, decided during the Roh administration and continued by all subsequent governments, constitute a waste of taxpayers' money."

The Presidential Office further criticized, "Former President Moon Jae-in promised to 'return the Blue House to the people' five years ago but failed to fulfill it, whereas President Yoon Seok-yeol has realized this promise," and stated, "The Democratic Party's false claim that all unrelated costs are relocation expenses can only be seen as an attempt to undermine the significance of the Blue House opening promise to the public."

Earlier, Han Byung-do, head of the Democratic Party's 'Presidential Office-related Allegations Fact-Finding Team,' held the 4th meeting at the National Assembly on the same day and mentioned, "President Yoon confidently stated that 49.6 billion won would be sufficient for the Presidential Office relocation budget, but the taxpayers' money to be spent in the future will amount to about 1 trillion won."

Han claimed that the minimum cost related to the Presidential Office relocation totals 1,079.487 billion won, including ▲ the previously announced 49.6 billion won for the relocation ▲ an additional 36.851 billion won from contingency funds and budget transfers ▲ 153.919 billion won in each ministry's 2023 budget ▲ 41.117 billion won expected to be included in the 2024 budget ▲ and at least 798 billion won in future costs such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff relocation.

Kim Byung-joo, the ranking member of the National Defense Committee, also added regarding the Joint Chiefs of Staff relocation costs, "The budget estimate of 298 billion won for constructing only the Joint Chiefs of Staff main building is insufficient," and said, "Considering the relocation of employee support facilities, convenience facilities, support units, and new barracks construction, costs are expected to increase by more than 500 billion won." He further stated, "Building a hotel roughly the size of the Dragon Hill Hotel will cost at least 300 billion won, and establishing long-term security and guard units, as well as protection and garrison facilities, will require at least 200 billion won."

Han demanded, "While the government asks the public to tighten their belts due to economic difficulties, it is secretly using a huge budget for the reckless Presidential Office relocation. Should the opposition party have to play hide-and-seek to find the budget? President Yoon should apologize to the public now and return to the Blue House to prevent wasteful spending of taxpayers' money."