News summary on the way home from work, Subsletter Evening.
The southern side of Mt. Bukak, facing the back of the Blue House, is a restricted area, but it will be open to the general public from tomorrow (6th).
The northern side was already opened a year and a half ago, so now Bukaksan is completely open.
Bukaksan Mountain has returned to citizens in 54 years since the so-called 'Kim Shin-jo Incident' in 1968, when North Korean armed spies attempted a surprise attack on the Blue House.
If the President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol relocates the Oval Office as planned, the need to restrict access to Mt. Bukak disappears, so the timing of this opening is halved.
Still, the Blue House is keeping its promises with the people until the very end.
Bukaksan Mountain behind the Blue House is fully open
The 'South side of Bukaksan Mountain' behind the Blue House building is restricted to the general public, but it will be open from tomorrow (6th).
It is the first time in 54 years since the so-called 'Kim Shin-jo Incident', in which North Korean armed spies attempted a surprise attack on the Blue House in 1968, citizens were able to freely enter and exit almost the entire area of Mt. Bukak.
The Blue House has lifted access control to Mt. Bukak in stages, but in November 2020, it was decided to lift access control on the 'North side of Mt. Bukak' and open it all up to the south side after 1 year and 6 months.
The Blue House introduced that the area of Bukaksan Mountain is 1.1 million square meters, 4.7 times that of Yeouido Park, and the trail is 5.2km long. The section from the south side to Samcheong-dong will continue without interruption. Citizens will be able to enjoy the pleasure of walking in the city,” explained the meaning of the opening.
In addition, the unused military facilities around Bukaksan Mountain and some iron fences located on the northern side of the Bukaksan Fortress after the 'Kim Shin-jo Incident' were removed, and the section used as a patrol route was also reorganized into an eco-friendly trail. It is said that the present appearance was preserved by giving it a name.
President Moon Jae-in and his wife even took a hike to commemorate the opening of Mt. Bukak.
The Blue House also introduced efforts and results for an 'open Blue House', such as opening the front street of the Blue House 24 hours a day in 2017, opening Mt. Inwang in 2018, and opening myself in 2019.
"The Blue House is open like this"
The fact that the current government gradually opened the area around the Blue House and finally opened the 'South side of Mt. Bukak' is very meaningful in that it kept its promise to the people and broke the boundaries with the people.
However, if the President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol relocates the Oval Office as promised, access restrictions are no longer necessary, so the meaning of the time period for opening is bound to diminish.
The Presidential Transition Committee is presenting a blueprint for opening on May 10.
Transition Committee The Blue House Relocation Task Force (TF) has added a 'Blue House Relocation and Open' menu to the transition committee website (https://20insu.go.kr/), please see the first page of the menu.
The 'Blue House Relocation and Opening' menu contains information on access methods, hiking trails, photo zones, etc.
The new office-related corners include the meaning of Yongsan before, the history of Yongsan, Yongsan Park, and the idea of an open presidential office.
The Blue House relocation TF will open the 'Online Communication Center', an official website related to the Blue House opening next week.
This includes information such as information on the opening of the Blue House, the movement of hiking trails, and various event programs.
The task force before the Blue House is also planning to open a public contest for the name of the presidential office.
"The opening of the Blue House on May 10th is the fulfillment of the first promise made to the people, announcing the beginning of the Yun Seok-yeol administration," said Rep. Yoon Han-hong, the head of the task force. It does.
Office relocation reserve for tomorrow
An ad hoc cabinet meeting will be held tomorrow (6th) presided over by Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom, where the preliminary budget for the relocation of the Oval Office promoted by President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol will be decided.
President Moon Jae-in instructed, "Hold an ad hoc cabinet meeting as soon as possible to deal with the reserve funds as soon as possible," and explained that an ad hoc cabinet meeting was scheduled.
President Moon Jae-in received a report on the results of the government review of the reserve funds for the relocation of the Oval Office this morning, and ordered "to hold an ad hoc cabinet meeting as soon as possible to deal with the reserve funds as soon as possible."
Accordingly, an ad hoc meeting of the State Council will be held tomorrow to deliberate and decide on the preliminary expenses related to the relocation of the President's Office.
Did you cross the big mountain before the Oval Office?
On the 21st of last month, at the National Security Council (NSC) extended ministerial meeting presided over by President Moon, the issue of relocating the presidential office was also discussed.
Today (5th), President Moon ordered a speedy process, and a Blue House official said, "President Moon had a meeting with President-elect Yoon on March 28 and decided to cooperate well in a broad framework. So we are cooperating well (according to that keynote),” he explained in terms of government takeover.
In addition, regarding concerns about the security vacuum caused by the relocation of the Oval Office, "We need to dispel concerns about the security vacuum due to the change of government, and there was such a prerequisite in relation to the payment of reserve funds. “I think we should make the utmost efforts to prevent a security vacuum from occurring,” he explained.
The Blue House does not specifically confirm the amount of the reserve that will be passed tomorrow (the 6th), but on the government side, it is said that the government and the transition committee are going through detailed coordination after first organizing a reserve in the size of 36 billion won.
Previously, President-elect Yoon said that a total of KRW 49.6 billion was needed to relocate the office ► Relocation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff building by the Ministry of National Defense 11.8 billion won ► Ministry of Defense remodeling 25.2 billion won ► Moving expenses of the bodyguard department 9,977 million won ► Remodeling of the Hannam-dong government office 25 billion won, etc.
There was an observation that the cost of relocating the Ministry of National Defense's Joint Chiefs of Staff building was missing, but the government seems to have decided to include the cost of moving the Ministry of Defense in the first reserve budget.
The cost of moving the Ministry of National Defense is decided this time, but instead, the government's plan is to minimize the security gap by delaying the moving date for departments related to the ROK-U.S. joint exercise to be held this month.
It is said that the first reserve cost includes the cost of remodeling the official residence in Hannam-dong, but it is not likely that the remodeling will be completed by May 10, the date of inauguration.
Of the 49.6 billion won requested by President-elect Yoon, the remaining amount not passed at the extraordinary cabinet meeting tomorrow is likely to be additionally organized within the term of the Moon Jae-in administration. I've only explained it that way.
Anyway, moving the Oval Office to Yongsan is just a matter of timing.
The Blue House, which used to be the heart of South Korea's power, will soon disappear into history.
a piece of the day
This is a photo of the representative of the victim's family and lawyer Kim Min-ho, who is the legal representative of the 'Incheon inter-floor noise knife riot,' holding a press conference to release CCTV footage at the Seoul Press Center.
CCTV footage shows the police officers on the move.