Construction work for Moon’s private residence comes to a halt

Construction for President Moon Jae-in’s private residence in Yangsan in North Gyeongsang Province, where the president plans to reside after stepping down from office, has been suspended due to opposition from neighbors.

According to the Blue House on Wednesday, construction work for the president’s private home located in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan City, which broke ground earlier this month. Seventeen local associations including the Local Council of Village Leaders of Habyok-myeon put up signs protesting against the construction. They said that the president’s Security Office and the Municipal government of Yangsan had not properly discussed matters on transportation and noise pollution issues.

An official with the Blue House explained that they have temporarily suspended construction work in order to make sure dust, noise pollution and other issues that could be of inconvenience to locals were properly inspected and they would resume construction after communicating with locals and settling the issues. When asked about whether they are considering to relocate the site, the Blue House dismissed the idea, commenting that “it is not being considered.”

The president’s plans regarding the private residence has been controversial. It has been criticized by the opposite party on grounds of altering land type in order to build the residence. President Moon strongly criticized such views on his social networking channel as “petty minded and ashaming.“


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