Tourists stand in front of Yeongbingwan, a former state guest house located next to Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office, in Jongno District, Seoul, May 10. Joint Press Corps

Yoon scraps construction plan after facing criticism

By Nam Hyun-woo

The presidential office is under fire for a plan to spend 87.9 billion won ($63 million) of the government budget to construct a new state guest house, which far exceeds President Yoon Suk-yeol's earlier promise on the costs for relocating his office.

As criticisms mount, Yoon ordered his aides to scrap the plan, saying "the office failed to explain the reason to the public."

According to a Ministry of Economy and Finance document submitted to Rep. Han Byung-do of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the ministry had allocated the amount for the construction of an annex to the presidential office, which would have been used for "receiving overseas guests and hosting various events."

The project would have started next year and finished in 2024. For next year alone, it would have required 49.7 billion won for designing and construction, according to the document released on Thursday.

The facility was assumed to be a new guest house for the presidential office.

Since Yoon relocated the presidential office from the previous Cheong Wa Dae site in central Seoul's Jongno District to the current one at the defense ministry compound in Yongsan District in May, Cheong Wa Dae and its annexes have been open to the public. Thus, Yeongbingwan, the previous guest house located next to the main building of Cheong Wa Dae, has not received overseas guests or hosted state events.

Due to this, Yoon has held official dinners for overseas leaders at outside venues. In May, Yoon hosted a dinner for guests who visited his inauguration ceremony at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, and had a dinner with U.S. President Joe Biden at the National Museum of Korea.

The construction plan, however, is in contrast to Yoon's earlier promise on the costs for relocating the presidential office.

In March, when Yoon was president-elect, he said that it would cost 49.6 billion won to relocate the presidential office, dismissing suspicions that it may require nearly 1 trillion won to set up the new facility.

Regarding Yeongbingwan, Yoon said at the time that he could be able to use the building for events such as state dinners.

The DPK held a meeting of its task force that monitors presidential office activities for any anomalies. "President Yoon's claim that it will cost 49.6 billion won to relocate the presidential office was a lie," said Rep. Han, who leads the team. "The administration has never clearly answered the question of why Yoon abandoned the fully equipped Cheong Wa Dae and moved to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan District."

As criticism mounted on the new guest house plan, the presidential office announced on Friday night that it has scrapped the plan.

Senior presidential secretary for public affairs Kim Eun-hye said in a statement that Yoon ordered his aides to scrap the plan on Friday.

"After returning Cheong Wa Dae to the public, we attempted to have a venue for state events which befit the country's status," Yoon was quoted in the statement. "The venue could have been the country's future asset, not the presidential office's. However, the office failed to explain the reason to the public, and secretaries should scrap the plan immediately to prevent any concerns."