Presidential inauguration ceremony to be held at National Assembly: preparation chief

The presidential inauguration ceremony in May will be held in the front garden of the National Assembly compound in Seoul following the custom, the chief of the presidential inauguration ceremony preparation committee said Wednesday.

While the preparation committee reviewed several options, they concluded that the National Assembly was the proper venue and received approval from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, the committee’s chief, Park Joo-sun, said in a press briefing.

“We have reviewed multiple venues for the inauguration ceremony that would open a new era, including the National Assembly, Seoul Plaza, the National Museum and Yongsan Park, among others,” said Park, who formerly served as the assembly vice speaker.

“We chose the front garden of the National Assembly, which can accommodate up to 50,000 people. Not only is (the National Assembly) the representative institution of the people, but it also holds the symbolic meaning as a venue of the public will.”

Park said they had looked into various factors to decide on the venue, including accommodation capability, the distance from the presidential office and whether COVID-19 protection measures could be set in place.

If it rains on the May 10 inauguration day, the ceremony will be held indoors at the Central Hall inside the National Assembly building, the committee chief said. The Central Hall can accommodate up to 400 people.

There were also other suggestions for the ceremony venue outside of Seoul, such as the administrative city of Sejong, or Gwangju, the home turf of liberal political factions in the southwest of the country. But they were eliminated as options due to the distance from Seoul, where the presidential office would be, Park added.

The National Assembly has been the venue for all presidential inauguration ceremonies since president Roh Tae-woo was sworn in in 1988.

The usual routine following the presidential inauguration ceremony at the parliament was an inaugural car parade to Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno, central Seoul.

But for Yoon’s inauguration this year, it may be different, as Yoon has announced an unprecedented plan to relocate the presidential office to the Defense Ministry compound in Yongsan, Seoul.

“We still have 45 days left from the inauguration ceremony, so we will prepare according to how the relocation plan proceeds,” the preparation committee chief said.

The launch of two other committees related to the inauguration ceremony were also announced in Wednesday‘s press briefing: an inauguration speech preparation committee and another that will choose the civil participants.

The inauguration speech preparation committee is led by Lee Gak-beom, who served in past presidential offices as the senior secretary for state affairs planning to the late President Kim Young-sam and as the first chief of the Presidential Council on Information Society, under former President Lee Myung-bak.

Lee, who is an expert in information technology, will fully reflect President-elect Yoon’s philosophy and the vision he has for his new administration, Park explained.

The invitation committee for national integration is charged with selecting some 500 people representing various values, classes, industries and statuses as participants of the inauguration ceremony.

The intention behind the invitation committee lies in national integration, inviting people from different walks of life to come together to celebrate the inauguration of the new president, Park explained.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)