When courts ruled to uphold the National Assembly’s decision to impeach President Park on March 10, she moved to a private residence in the Samseong-dong area, leaving behind her bed.(Image:Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Jul. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Though former President Park Geun-hye has now been gone from the Blue House for four months, officials at the presidential residence are still deliberating on what to do with what she left behind.
When courts ruled to uphold the National Assembly’s decision to impeach President Park on March 10, she moved to a private residence in the Samseong-dong area, leaving behind her bed.
In May, when President Moon was elected, First Lady Kim Jeong Sook purchased a bed for the presidential couple’s at a furniture store using private means. It is believed that the presidential family will take a page out of the White House’s book and pay for their meals, daily utilities and for their pet out of their own pocket.
As former President Park used government funds to purchase her bed, she was not permitted to take it with her. That meant leaving behind a dilemma for Blue House staff members who are perplexed as to what to do with it.
A spokesperson for the Blue House stated that “goods purchased using government funds have a duration that they must be used for. We’re not sure what to do in this particular situation as we don’t have a good use for the bed.”
Since the bed has already been used, placing it in the security staff’s quarters or the guest room seems unreasonable.
(Image:yonhap)
Blue House staff have also considered selling it. However, as the bed would have to be sold as a used good, and the market for used beds is lukewarm at best, it seems as though the expected financial return makes the transaction hardly worth it. There is also the argument that peddling the president’s intimate possessions, no matter the politics behind it, is something of an unsavory position to take.
At the moment, the bed has been moved to the waiting room next to the reception area of the Blue House.
The spokesperson commented that “there may be a possibility that former President Park’s bed could be included in an exhibit of prior presidents. We’re racking our brains to figure out what to do with it.”
By S.B.Woo(editor@koreabizwire.com)
