Presidential Office: "No Luxury Facilities in the Residence... Strong Regret Over False Claims"

"Dressing Room Much Smaller Than Cheongwadae"
"Room 3 Is a Glass Greenhouse, No Sauna Either"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee are seen greeting as they board Air Force One, their private plane, at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos, on the 11th (local time) before returning home. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office expressed regret over claims by some opposition lawmakers and media reports alleging the presence of luxury facilities inside the presidential residence, stating that these claims are "completely untrue."

On the afternoon of the 26th, the Presidential Office issued a press release saying, "The so-called 'Room 3,' which some claim to be a luxury facility, was already installed before the residence was relocated and is a glass greenhouse used to store plants and other items."

It further explained, "Additionally, the dressing room is much smaller compared to the facilities installed in the previous Blue House residence, and there is no sauna."

However, it added, "Please understand that the Presidential Office and residence are critical national facilities under the 'Integrated Defense Act,' so we cannot disclose specific details."

Earlier, during the National Assembly audit the previous day, opposition lawmakers raised suspicions about the existence of luxury facilities inside the presidential residence.

Lee Seong-yoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "There is content in the audit minutes indicating that there is a luxury facility used exclusively by First Lady Kim Geon-hee in a private space inside the residence, which would make the entire nation envious if known," and questioned, "Are the minutes being withheld because they are afraid this will be revealed?"

The Board of Audit and Inspection opposes disclosing the audit minutes related to allegations of corruption in the residence relocation despite opposition demands, leading to criticism that this is due to concerns about revealing luxury facilities inside the residence.

Seo Young-kyo, also from the Democratic Party of Korea, asked, "Why build a dressing room and sauna in the residence?" and inquired, "'Room 1' is the dressing room, 'Room 2' is the sauna facility, so what is in 'Room 3'?"

In response, the Presidential Office stated, "We strongly regret the baseless false claims and related reports."