High Cost of Moving the Presidential Office: A Look into South Korea’s Emergency Fund Usage

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When the Yoon Suk Yeol administration took office on May 10, 2022, the president’s office was relocated to Yongsan, Seoul, from the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Recently, as the regime entered its third year, it was confirmed that the most significant portion of the national emergency fund, or general reserve fund, was spent on the presidential office relocation.

According to Hankook Ilbo, on the 2nd, about $546 million of the reserve fund was spent on the pretext of the Yongsan relocation. The reserve fund is an emergency for addressing unforeseen, unavoidable expenditures in government fiscal activities.

Source: News1

Reviewing the formation and usage of the reserve fund, on April 6, 2022, just before taking office, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the Presidential Security Service, and the Ministry of National Defense requested about $30.2 million. On the 26th of the same month, an additional $11.4 million was requested.

After officially taking office, $4.8 million was allocated for the relocation of the police security unit guarding the presidential office, and an additional $8.1 million was added for the operational expenses of opening the Blue House due to the relocation of the presidential office. The total of these amounts is approximately 650 billion won.

Yoon Suk Yeol emphasized that the relocation cost was about $416.5 million, but it was revealed that each ministry’s budget was used before the 650 billion won contingency fund.

This included $251,000 for the operation of civil servant commuter buses, over $922,000 for meal expenses to replace the police, and over $2.4 million under the pretext of the Ministry of National Defense’s second quarter survey design cost. Adding up these and other budgets, at least $25.7 million was used.

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So, what is the situation like at the now-vacant Blue House due to the office relocation?

At the time of the relocation, President Yoon Suk Yeol opened the Blue House to the public, allowing anyone to visit it like Gyeongbokgung Palace.

From the first day of its opening on May 10, the Blue House attracted many visitors, and it seemed that the opening would continue to be popular. However, various problems arose, such as eating and damage, as countless people flocked in without control.

On the second day of opening, a terrorist incident by a Protestant believer occurred on the Stone Buddha Seated on a Square Pedestal in Gyeongju, a cultural heritage precinct within the Blue House.

Last year, malodor was controversial due to poor sanitation management. Temporary toilets had to be installed due to the delayed construction of toilets for visitors. It was even difficult for older people and those with leg problems to use the toilets installed on narrow stairs. The Cultural Heritage Administration had taken a budget of $595,000 to build new toilets, but construction has not started even seven months after the budget allocation.

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The economic effect of the opening was also disastrous.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration predicted that “opening the Blue House will have an economic effect of $168 million yearly.” Still, unlike the initial influx of visitors after the opening, the Blue House was deserted around the first anniversary of the opening.

At the end of February, it became straightforward to visit, so you can easily make a reservation on the day and even apply for a tour on-site without a reservation.

Instead, the Blue House has ended up in the package tour courses for foreign tourists.

According to Maeil Business Newspaper, the Blue House tour is a time-killing course in some low-cost package travel products. It’s nothing more than a place where travel agencies let tourists loose for free. The price of the tourism product, including airfare and accommodation, was about $386.

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Even so, it was not possible to fully tour the Blue House. This is because the number of times President Yoon Suk Yeol uses the Blue House guesthouse for luncheons with members of the People Power Party and others has been increasing. Presidential events are security matters, so visitors can only find out if they can tour the inside of the Blue House when they visit on the day.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the total budget allocated to the Blue House this year is $25.2 million. This includes direct and indirect costs for facility management and operation of the Blue House opening, comprehensive maintenance of the administrative building, and operation of cultural programs.