audit-ex-president
Audit finds illegal construction of golf driving range on ex-President Yoon's residential compound
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- A golf driving range was found to have been constructed illegally on the presidential residence compound used by ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the state auditor said Thursday.
The facility was built at the orders of then Presidential Security Service (PSS) chief Kim Yong-hyun and disguised as a guard post in official construction documents, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said in a report.
The BAI did not state whether Yoon personally gave the orders for the driving range or the extent to which he was involved in the construction process, as it was unable to verify the details with Kim, who is currently jailed over his role in Yoon's failed imposition of martial law in December 2024.
Yoon has also been jailed over the martial law attempt.
The driving range was built as an extension of existing buildings and covered 69.5 square meters. In order for the PSS to construct a golf driving range or use it following completion, the approval of the interior and finance ministries was required under state property law.
However, the PSS did not follow the necessary procedures to begin or complete construction, the BAI said.
Yoon relocated the presidential office and residence in 2022 to fulfill a campaign pledge to connect better with the public. The office and residence, which had both been located on the Cheong Wa Dae compound, were moved to what were then the defense ministry compound and the foreign minister's residence, respectively.
The BAI said Kim called a dozen staff members to the presidential residence in May 2022 and instructed them to construct a golf driving range on the compound.
Kim told one senior official to take particular care not to let the construction become known, and the official later wrote up a construction plan that disguised the purpose as building a guard post and the details as the construction of an "employees' waiting area," according to the auditor.
The PSS also ordered a construction company to begin work before signing a contract and only paid the cost of 135 million won (US$94,380) after the facility was completed in August 2022. Of the total amount, the cost of constructing the golf driving range came to 104 million won, the auditor said.
The PSS did not report the construction plan to the local district office as required.
"The then chief and deputy chief of the PSS knew from the start that the facility was to be used by the president," the BAI said in its report. "It is difficult to regard the (construction) of a facility used by the president as the job of the PSS, as it is the work of the presidential secretariat."
While visiting the construction site, Kim gave specific orders to plant trees to hide the driving range from view, move the golf bay "to the center" and install a mirror that does not break.
He was also found to have ordered the preparation of a draft proposal for the interior of the driving range to be presented to Yoon, suggesting he may have been aware of the construction process.
The BAI also found traces that the driving range had been used.
"We could not confirm the exact period of use, but there were marks showing a ball was hit to practice golf," a BAI official said.
The auditor said it has requested the PSS come up with disciplinary and other measures against the employees and construction company officials who were involved in the case.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
