PM says he plans to meet with Yoon's transition team

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said he plans to meet with officials of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team to ensure a smooth transfer of the administration.

Kim made the remark to reporters before departing from Doha for Seoul following a five-day visit to Turkey and Qatar when asked what he is going to take care of first after returning home.

Kim, who is scheduled to arrive back home later Monday, did not provide details on how he is going to meet them and when, but he is expected to meet with Ahn Cheol-soo, chairperson of the transition team, later this week.

"I am going to meet with the transition committee side," Kim said. "We're going to sort out and hand over what needs to be handed over ... We will hold consultations so that the transition will be made in a systematic way."

Asked about an earlier news report that he is being considered for retention in the incoming government, which both Yoon's camp and the prime minister's office denied, Kim said it is just an incident that did not reflect the whole situation.

"It (report) probably came out in the perspective of cooperative governance, but it set the wrong target," he said. "An individual cannot be a symbol of cooperative governance. That's impossible."

Regarding Yoon's decision to relocate the presidential office to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan, central Seoul, Kim said he believes it appears to be an inevitable decision from the president-elect.

"It became a symbolic issue for the new government, so the president-elect had to decide in that way," Kim said. "Although there is a controversy, I do not think the issue ultimately decides the incoming government's character." (Yonhap)