Oh Se-hoon to Become Neighbors with Yoon Seok-yeol... Moving into Hannam-dong Official Residence in March

Partial Remodeling of Seoul Partners House Building

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will move to the Hannam-dong mayoral residence in the first half of this year. This place is adjacent to the Hannam-dong residence where President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife currently live, making them neighbors.

On the 10th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will remodel part of the Seoul Partners House building (3rd floor) and operate it as the mayoral residence starting from the end of March to enable faster response during various emergencies such as disasters and to prevent damage to nearby residents caused by continuous and repeated rallies around the mayor’s private residence.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "The need to operate a mayoral residence located in an area with easy access to the city hall was raised to ensure quick and efficient response during emergencies such as the recent Itaewon tragedy," and added, "Also, due to the continuous rallies occurring around the current mayor’s private residence, we reviewed the use of a mayoral residence to prevent inconvenience and damage to nearby residents."

Initially, relocation to another area was considered, but since the mayor’s duties inevitably expose him to rallies and protests as he mediates collective conflicts, it was decided to operate the mayoral residence in a location that minimizes damage to nearby residents.

To save budget, instead of purchasing or leasing private buildings, part of the Seoul Partners House building (3rd floor), which is owned by the city, will be used. The residence will establish an emergency response system including deployment of emergency response personnel (24-hour residence) and standby emergency vehicles.

The city first reviewed city-owned facilities located near city hall or in areas with easy access. Facilities currently used as spaces for citizens or those near residential areas where rallies could cause damage to local residents were excluded. Considering quick return to city hall during emergencies, prevention of damage to nearby residents, low budget input, and facility utilization, it was finally decided to use part of the Seoul Partners House, which is currently being remodeled as a global business support space, as the mayoral residence.

Additionally, with the stabilization of COVID-19 and the expectation of various events for city administration cooperation, linking the remaining space of Partners House is expected to reduce costs for renting private facilities such as hotels or banquet halls.

Jung Sang-hoon, Director of the Administrative Bureau, said, “This will be operated not simply as a residential residence but as a ‘second mayor’s office’ to enable rapid emergency response and stable performance of the mayor’s duties without spatial and temporal constraints. We will do our utmost to operate the residence in connection with Seoul Partners House to create synergy effects in global business support functions such as corporate investment attraction and urban diplomacy.”