"Unlike Previous Presidents, Private Residences in the Capital Area"
"Land Area Actually Half of Past Levels"
"Additional Budget Adjustments Once Residence Location Is Decided"
The Presidential Office explained on the 5th that the budget for security facilities at the presidential residence where President Yoon Seok-yeol will live after his term has more than doubled compared to the previous administration because "the unit price of land in the metropolitan area was provisionally reflected," adding that "construction costs are similar to those of the former president."
On the morning of the same day, the Presidential Office stated through a press notice, "The security facilities at the presidential residence are national assets managed and held through the National Property Management Fund, not for private use."
Regarding the larger project cost compared to previous presidents, the office said, "Unlike former presidents who mainly had residences in provincial areas, the land cost provisionally reflects the unit price of land in Seoul or Gyeonggi Province, considering the possibility that the residence may be located in the metropolitan area."
They further explained, "In fact, the land area is about half compared to past cases (former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in), and construction costs are similar to those of the previous president."
They also stated, "The purchase and construction costs of security facility land reflect inflation based on government regulation guidelines, and other construction costs were calculated applying the scale of the previous president’s security facilities and common government standards."
The Presidential Office added, "Costs related to security facilities at the presidential residence after the president’s term are usually reflected in the budget for the year following the third year of the term and are provisional estimates, not finalized amounts," and "Since the residence location has not yet been decided, detailed budgets will be further adjusted once a decision is made."
Earlier, Minhee Choi, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out based on the ‘Budget and Fund Operation Plan Project Explanation Materials’ submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance that approximately 13.98 billion KRW was allocated for the construction of security facilities at President Yoon’s residence after his term.
Considering that the security budget for former President Moon Jae-in’s residence was 6.2 billion KRW and for former President Park Geun-hye’s residence was 6.7 billion KRW, this amount is more than double.
In response, some opposition party members criticized that the budget for constructing security facilities was excessively allocated amid a tightening fiscal policy due to a large tax revenue shortfall.
The Presidential Security Service stated, "Since the residence location has not yet been decided, the amount is only an estimate based on land prices in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas and reflects the scale of previous security facilities."
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