Yoon to commute to office from private home while official residence is renovated

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol expected to commute to the new presidential office in central Seoul from his private home for about a month after his inauguration while his official residence is renovated, officials said Sunday.

Yoon has decided to remodel what is now the foreign minister's residence into his official residence in line with his plan to move the presidential office and residence out of Cheong Wa Dae in an effort to connect better with the people.

Renovation work on the foreign minister's residence in Hannam-dong will begin on Yoon's inauguration on May 10 and is expected to take around a month, and Yoon plans to commute to his new office from his private home in Seocho-dong in southern Seoul, transition team officials said.

"We will be mainly taking the Banpo Bridge on our commute as it is the closest one to Seocho Ward. ... The route could change depending on the situation," an official told Yonhap News Agency.

Yoon's commute could worsen traffic congestion because roads are blocked for his motorcade.

Bae Hyun-jin, Yoon's spokesperson, told a press briefing that his team is working to come up with the best possible measure to prevent traffic during his commute.

"I believe we already said that we are conducting simulation exercises and looking for the best way to avoid causing inconvenience to citizens, considering the morning and evening commute hours," she said.

The official residence of the Army chief of staff had originally been considered a top candidate for Yoon's residence, but the foreign minister's residence emerged as a better option as the Army chief's home, built in the mid-1970s, requires extensive remodeling.

"We chose the foreign minister's residence as the new official residence because the remodeling work will take only a short period of time to finish even if starts May 10, as the previous foreign ministers have consistently renovated the residence during their stays," the official said. (Yonhap)