[2025 Audit] Democratic Party's Im Ohkyung: "Yoon Suk-yeol Administration's Culture Ministry Exaggerated Benefits of Presidential Office Relocation"

There have been criticisms from the National Assembly that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism exaggerated the benefits of relocating the presidential office to Yongsan during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

The area around the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Im Ohkyung, the secretary of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, stated in materials for the parliamentary audit on this day, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism excessively claimed that opening the Blue House would generate more than 200 billion won in economic benefits, but the evidence was weak. In reality, the Blue House was used more as a banquet hall for Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keonhee."

Im further criticized, "At the center of Yoon Suk-yeol's relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan were the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Cultural Heritage Administration," adding, "After the relocation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism invested more than 46 billion won of taxpayers' money, claiming it would remodel the Blue House into a tourist attraction. Former Minister Park Bogyun made far-fetched remarks, saying he would turn the Blue House into a cultural and artistic space like France's Palace of Versailles, in an attempt to make the Yongsan relocation seem appealing."

Im also pointed out, "As President Lee Jaemyung prepares to return to the Blue House, next year's budget still includes 16 billion won for the 'creation of a Blue House complex cultural and artistic space.' There are also criticisms that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Cultural Heritage Administration have wasted taxpayers' money," she said.