OPTIONS ON RELOCATION OF PRES. OFFICE

[Anchor Lead]

The new presidential office for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has been narrowed down to two options – Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Gwanghwamun and the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan. Officials will inspect the two sites before making a decision shortly. At present, the Defense Ministry’s building looks more promising, but relocation cost and security concerns have emerged as its shortcomings.

[Pkg]

After yesterday’s discussion between President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and the transition committee chair Ahn Cheol-soo... the possible sites for Yoon’s new presidential office has been narrowed down to two locations - the foreign affairs ministry building in Gwanghwamun and the national defense ministry building in Yongsan. Both sites will be inspected today before arriving at a final decision shortly. The Government Complex Seoul in the city center, which was examined as a possible candidate, has been ruled out due to security concerns.

[Soundbite] Kim Eun-hye(Spokesperson for President-Elect) : "It’s not the issue of physical relocation. Our utmost consideration is to be with the people and not inconvenience them."

More discussions and inspections are needed, but the most likely candidate at the moment is the building that houses the Ministry of National Defense. The president-elect’s office said that once Yongsan Park is completed, the presidential office will be connected to the park to provide a venue for the new president to meet with the people. But there are standing issues as well. First, the cost. The president-elect promised to cut down the cost as much as possible, but the Ministry of the Interior and Safety estimates the relocation expenses to be 50 billion won. Added to that is the moving cost for the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and military units forced to move out. Some 4,100 people work inside the defense ministry. The defense ministry building’s crisis management system should be moved as well... which could cause disruptions in Korea’s military readiness.

[Soundbite] Rep. Kim Byung-joo(Democratic Party) : "It is terrible that the troops are getting ready to move when we should be focusing on maintaining readiness and responding to situations real-time as North Korea keeps making security threats such as missile launches."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building has similar security and protection issues as the ruled-out option, the Government Complex Seoul. But, the President-elect hopes to start working in the new office immediately after inauguration. With only about 50 days left until the start of the Yoon administration, the president-elect’s special advisor Yim Tae-hee, who had also served under the Lee Myung-bak government, suggested that the relocation plan should be slowed down rather than rushing it to meet a deadline.