S. Korea’s next leader to abandon Blue House for new office

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president-elect says he will abandon the current mountainside presidential palace of Blue House and establish his office in central Seoul as part of efforts to better communicate with the public. Relocating the presidential office was one of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol’s main campaign promises. The conservative former top prosecutor whose single five-year term begins on May 10 said the location and design of the Blue House have fed criticisms that South Korean presidents are cut off from the public and wield excessive power. At a televised news conference Sunday, Yoon said he will move the presidential office to the Defense Ministry compound in central Seoul and that he’ll begin his term there.