By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) — Cheong Wa Dae will open a bid this week for site development to build a branch of the presidential office in the administrative city of Sejong, with the goal of completing the project within President Lee Jae Myung’s term, a senior aide said Tuesday.
The bid will open Wednesday for a 350,000-square-meter site in Sejong, located about 110 kilometers south of Seoul. The project carries a proposed budget of 9.8 billion won (US$6.6 million) and is expected to take 14 months to complete, Lee Kyu-yeon, senior secretary for public relations, told reporters.
“President Lee has repeatedly expressed his determination to hold his retirement ceremony in Sejong and has instructed officials to accelerate the project so that he can use the Sejong office during his term,” the secretary said. “The site preparation project carries symbolic and significant meaning for balanced national development.”
A design competition for the Sejong office will also be held, with the winning proposal to be announced by the end of this month.
The secretary said Cheong Wa Dae will make every effort to ensure the Sejong office is operational by August 2029, in line with the president’s pledge to use it before his term ends in May 2030.
Until then, Cheong Wa Dae is expected to serve as his primary workplace for most of his five-year term.
Lee Kyu-yeon, senior presidential secretary for public relations, announces a bid for the site development of a branch of the presidential office in the administrative city of Sejong during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on April 14, 2026. (Yonhap)
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
