Security Office: "Allegations of Cheonggong Visiting Hannam-dong Official Residence Are Not True"

Secret Service "Regret Democratic Party Fake News Spread"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Presidential Security Service issued a rebuttal on the 2nd against media reports claiming that the fortune teller 'Cheongong' visited the Hannam-dong residence with Security Chief Kim Yong-hyun during the search for President Yoon Seok-yeol's new official residence, calling the reports "groundless."

In the afternoon, the Security Service informed the presidential press corps, "We would like to clarify that the allegations that Cheongong visited the Hannam-dong official residence are completely untrue," and reiterated, "Security Chief Kim Yong-hyun has never met Cheongong, and Cheongong has never toured the Hannam-dong residence."

They also emphasized, "We strongly regret that the Democratic Party of Korea is leading the spread of 'fake news' based on false 'hearsay'."

On the same day, some media outlets including News Tomato reported that Cheongong was involved in the decision-making process for the presidential office residence. Around March last year, Cheongong, Kim Yong-hyun, who was then the head of the Blue House relocation task force under the Presidential Transition Committee, and a certain lawmaker known as a 'Yun core figure' (a key associate of President Yoon) conducted a preliminary inspection of the Army Chief of Staff's residence and the Seoul office, and it was reported to then Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin through the residence's managing soldier.

The presidential residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee are scheduled to move to the Hannam-dong residence within this month, is visible on the 24th./Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Hankook Ilbo also cited the contents of a new book by former Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Bu Seung-chan, reporting that on April 1 last year, Bu heard from former Chief Nam in a restroom at an event that "I recently received a report that Cheongong visited the Hannam-dong Army Chief of Staff's residence and the Seoul office." A member of the transition committee accompanied them at the scene, and the companion was known to be Chief Kim.

The suspicion was first raised when former Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae claimed it through a TBS radio program and YouTube last December. At that time, former lawmaker Kim asserted, "Chief Kim toured the Army Chief of Staff's residence in advance with Cheongong, and later the presidential residence was changed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs minister's residence in Hannam-dong."

Meanwhile, former spokesperson Bu previously worked as a parliamentary aide to former lawmaker Kim.