ⓒYONHAP News

The presidential office on Monday expressed concerns over President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol’s plan to relocate the top office to a military compound in Yongsan, Seoul. 

Senior presidential secretary for public communication Park Soo-hyun relayed the stance while announcing the results of an expanded ministerial meeting of the National Security Council earlier in the day. 

Park said that such a relocation in the short time left before the new administration launches appears to be unrealistic, pointing to the number of offices and agencies involved, not only at the presidential office but also within its new prospective site.  

Citing escalating security risks on the Korean Peninsula, he said a sudden relocation of the defense ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the crisis management center of the top office could lead to a security vacuum and confusion. 

The presidential official said unless there is an urgency necessitating such a hasty relocation, it would be rational to pursue it when all sides are ready. He added the government will convey such concerns to the president-elect and his transition team, pledging to engage in necessary discussions before finalizing a stance on the issue.

Disagreements between the sitting and incoming president’s camps continued during the week.

On Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in nominated a senior official from the International Monetary Fund(IMF) to head the nation's central bank, with the incumbent governor's term set to expire in little over a week. 

According to senior presidential secretary Park, Rhee Chang-yong, the director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, was named to replace Lee Ju-yeol as the new Bank of Korea(BOK) governor.

Park said Rhee has expertise in both theory and policy implementation regarding domestic and global economies, as well as in monetary policy. The nominee was also said to have the full confidence of those around him.

Rhee had served as the vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, the secretary general of the 2010 Group of 20 Seoul Summit organizing committee, and a chief economist at the Asia Development Bank.

An unnamed high-ranking presidential official told reporters the nomination was decided to minimize a vacancy in the central bank leadership, and was discussed with the camp of president-elect Yoon.

But Yoon’s camp disputed that claim in a brief statement on Wednesday, saying there was neither a consultation nor a recommendation made on the nomination matter with the presidential office.

An official from Yoon's transition team said differences regarding nominations for the next central bank chief and members of the state audit agency have delayed a customary meeting between the president and his successor.

Wednesday's nomination, however, will likely not prevent a leadership vacuum at the central bank, with only eight days left in incumbent Governor Lee Ju-yeol's term.

The shortest time on record from nomination to confirmation hearing approval for a BOK governor was 16 days.