Lee Jae-myung: "Let's Restore the Chief of Security Office Residence to Marine Corps Residence"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 31st of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed on the 2nd to "restore the Presidential Security Service Chief's official residence to its original owner, the Marine Corps official residence."

In a post on Facebook that day, Lee said, "This will be the first step in respecting the history of the Marine Corps and regaining pride." He wrote, "The Hannam-dong official residence village is a place that holds the proud history of the Marine Corps. During the Korean War, a Marine Corps direct unit was deployed to support the Marine units defending Jangdan and Sacheon Rivers, and the Marine Corps Commander's official residence was built through public fundraising."

He continued, "During the December 12 military coup, the Marine Corps official residence guard risked their lives to fight against the rebel forces," and asked, "How heartbreaking must it be for Marines to see such a place fall into a 'lawless zone' controlled by insurgents?"

The official residence was used as the Marine Corps Commander's residence until before the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. After President Yoon's inauguration, it is known to have been used as the Security Service Chief's official residence following the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan.

Lee said, "Discussions to make the Marine Corps independent and reorganize it into a 'quasi-fourth branch' should also be intensified," adding, "As promised during the last presidential election, we must support strengthening the Marine Corps' capabilities and independence in line with global trends to maximize amphibious operation capabilities."

He added, "There can be no distinction between ruling and opposition parties when it comes to strong national defense and security," and said, "Although there may be differences in specific methodologies, since Marine Corps independence was a common pledge of both ruling and opposition parties in the last presidential election, I believe the People Power Party will also readily agree."