Moon buys home for post-retirement

President Moon Jae-in and his wife purchased a property in the countryside where they plan to reside after retirement, a presidential spokesman said Friday.

“President Moon plans to live in Pyeongsan Village in Habuk-myeon, Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok said.

“(They) decided to move their private residence from Maegok-dong in Yangsan to the nearby village due to security reasons.”

The Presidential Security Service has prepared since the end of last year to acquire a site to build Moon’s new residence and facilities for his security service.

Together with Moon and his wife Kim Jung-sook, the PSS bought a 3,860-square-meter plot of land with a two-story house on it for 1.47 billion won ($1.21 million) in late April, according to the municipal government of Yangsan.

The site, between the cities of Ulsan and Busan, is close to the Seoul-Busan expressway and the KTX station for Ulsan, and is about a 10-minute walk from the historic Tongdosa, one of Korea’s top three Buddhist temples.

Moon’s new residence is also about a 50-minute drive from the grave of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. Moon was Roh’s presidential chief of staff in 2007-08, as well as a longtime friend.

“I heard that (the PSS) has been looking for a new site as the president’s Maegok-dong residence where he lived before being elected had some security issues geographically,” an official of the Yangsan municipality said.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)