a symbolic gesture that brings a logistical headache for his security staff.
Moon Jae-in, 64, was sworn in on Wednesday and vowed
to immediately tackle the pressing problem of North Korea's advancing nuclear
ambitions and to soothe tension with the United States and China.
A liberal former human rights lawyer, Moon rose to
power on promises of a more just and fair society. He has vowed to "end
the culture of an authoritarian presidency", an image that bedeviled
Moon's disgraced predecessor, Park Geun-hye.
"I will leave the Blue House and begin the age of
a 'Gwanghwamun president' as soon as preparations are done," Moon said in
his first speech as president on Wednesday.
Gwanghwamun is Seoul's historic center and main
ceremonial thoroughfare.
Flanked by five royal palaces from South Korea's
dynastic past, it is also home to some of the country's main corporations and
financial institutions, embassies, hotels and a concert hall.
But most importantly for Moon and his supporters, it
was the site of big, peaceful candlelit protests against Park that began late
last year, helping pave the way for Moon's election win months later.
At one corner of the 740 meter long plaza, just across
the road from Seoul's landmark Gyeongbokgung palace, stands a tall, plain
building within a complex which Moon has said will one day house his office.
The Seoul Government Complex comprises three buildings
and contains several government offices, including the Ministry of Unification,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and soon perhaps, the presidential office.
But the buildings, including the largest, aging 1970s
structure, will need major renovations and security upgrades to meet standards
in a country still technically at war with North Korea, two people with direct
knowledge of the building said.
"It's going to be a headache," said one
source, who asked not to be identified, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
"Security will have to be strengthened a lot.
It's unrealistic".
The plan to leave the Blue House has echoes of the
security nightmare, and the millions of dollars in expenses, that arose when
U.S. President Donald Trump's wife and son decided to stay in his Manhattan
tower block, and not the White House.
SECURITY SCARE
Protection for South Korea's leader got deadly serious
in 1968, when North Korean commandos attempted to assassinate then president
Park Chung-hee but were stopped by police 800 meters from the Blue House.
Two of the attackers escaped, the rest were killed,
and a ring of security around the president got tighter.
Moon has pledged to turn at least some of the forested
Blue House grounds into a public park. A spokesman for Moon could not be
reached for comment.
The main 19-storey building of the Seoul Government
Complex has a standard card-based entry system, a far cry form the
sophisticated protection at the heavily guarded Blue House, which sits at the
foot of a small mountain behind roadblocks and checkpoints.
The Blue House complex also has a big, underground
bunker, built to withstand artillery fire, which was upgraded with a
state-of-the-art information system last year, media reported.
Traffic near the Seoul Government Complex is also
expected to pose a hurdle, if the usual protection for presidents on the move
is maintained.
About 77,000 people a day use a subway station 3
minutes away from the complex, which backs on to a 12-lane thoroughfare.
"The building will need reinforcement," said
Song Sang-rak, head of the Government Building Management Office at the
Interior Ministry.
The main building's last major renovation was the
installation of sprinklers in 2008, and its windows lack adequate soundproofing
and insulation, let alone strength, Song said.
"It's going to take some budget, for items such
as bulletproof glass," Song said, adding that Moon hoped to be in his new
offices by 2019.
Moon draws comparisons with Europe and the United
States to make his point for a more approachable government.
"European countries with parliamentary cabinet
systems have their prime ministers' work spaces or living quarters in the city
center," he said last month.
"Even in the United States, the public can at
least visit the office of the president."
*REUTERS*
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