President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol "Presidential Office Relocation to Yongsan... Blue House to Open on May 10" (Comprehensive)

Estimated Office Relocation Cost 49.6 Billion KRW
Yoon: "I Will Be a President Who Communicates with the People"
On Criticism That Livelihood Issues Are Delayed
"I Have Asked the Transition Team to Handle COVID-19 and Other Livelihood Matters"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol bows his head after finishing a press conference on the relocation of the Blue House presidential office to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building at the Presidential Transition Committee press room in the annex of the Korea Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Ki-min Lee and Jun-yi Park] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol officially announced on the 20th that he will relocate the presidential office from the Blue House to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building and begin working in the new office starting from his inauguration day on May 10.

On the same day at 11 a.m., Yoon held a press conference at the annex of the Korea Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, where the transition committee office is located, to make this announcement.

He explained the background of moving the presidential office to Yongsan by saying, "During the process of establishing the campaign pledges, various issues were thoroughly reviewed by experts, but after the election, a detailed examination of relocating the office from the Gwanghwamun government buildings made me realize that it is not an easy matter."

He added, "On the other hand, the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff area is equipped with national security command facilities, allowing us to fully return the Blue House to the citizens, with minimal inconvenience caused by security measures. The Yongsan area has already been developed under the premise of protecting military facilities, so there will be no additional regulations even if the Blue House relocates," he clarified. Yoon also mentioned that since the return of the U.S. military base in Yongsan is scheduled, a Yongsan Park will be created to facilitate interaction and communication with the public.

Regarding the Ministry of National Defense relocation, he stated, "(The ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command) is moving to Pyeongtaek, freeing up space, so there are no major restrictions on the Ministry of National Defense moving into the Joint Chiefs of Staff building. Since it is a move within the same complex, the cost of relocating the office can be minimized." He further explained, "The Joint Chiefs of Staff building was located in Yongsan considering cooperation with the Combined Forces Command, but since the Combined Forces Command is moving to Pyeongtaek, I believe it is appropriate to move to the Namtaryeong area, where the war command headquarters is located."

Yoon acknowledged concerns about rushing the presidential office relocation with only 50 days left before his term begins, saying, "I understand the worries about moving the presidential office too hastily at this point. However, once inside the Blue House grounds, it would be even harder to escape the symbol of absolute power that the Blue House represents." He reiterated, "Considering the inconvenience to the public and the aspect of fully opening the Blue House to the people, I judged that it is right to promptly decide and proceed with relocating to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building." He emphasized that postponing the office move and moving into the Blue House first would make handling various issues more difficult, stating, "I will absolutely not enter [the Blue House]."

Regarding opening the existing Blue House facilities and moving the presidential office into the Ministry of National Defense building, he emphasized, "The Blue House will be opened and returned to the people on May 10, the start of my term. We will return the main building, the guesthouse, as well as the Nokjiwon garden, known as the best garden, and Sangchunjae to the public." He also added that he will start working immediately from the presidential office prepared in the Ministry of National Defense building from that day. Yoon said, "After the inauguration ceremony, I will move in and start working right away. Although the move is not simple, I calculated that it is possible."

Yoon estimated that the relocation will cost 49.6 billion won. Specifically, ▲ 11.8 billion won for moving and remodeling the Ministry of National Defense ▲ 25.2 billion won for moving the secretariat and installing bulletproof windows for security ▲ 9.997 billion won for moving the security office ▲ about 2.5 billion won for remodeling the Hannam-dong official residence. He added that he plans to secure funds by applying for contingency funds.

Regarding concerns about disruption to military-exclusive communication and computer networks due to the Ministry of National Defense relocation, he said, "It is hard to accept that moving military units would cause a gap in national defense. This plan was made by people who have worked there before and have sufficient experience." He added, "We are moving right next door (to the Joint Chiefs of Staff building). There is no need to worry about that."

On security, he explained, "Security technology is now quite advanced. We plan to change the security system so that there is no inconvenience in communicating with the public and getting closer to the people." He continued, "The mental connection itself, where the public can freely observe the president working while taking a walk in the park, is very important. The fact that the public can always watch the highest decision-maker in the country at work will greatly accelerate the development of democracy in our country," he emphasized.

Regarding traffic control and public inconvenience during commuting from the Hannam-dong official residence to the Yongsan office, he explained, "There are several routes, but it is expected to take about 3 to 5 minutes to control traffic and enter. If time is used appropriately, there will be little inconvenience to the public."

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is holding a press conference on the relocation of the Blue House presidential office to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building at the press conference room of the Presidential Transition Committee set up in the annex of the Korea Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Regarding the Democratic Party raising shamanism-related controversies about the Yongsan relocation, Yoon responded, "Although it came up during the presidential election process, it seems the Democratic Party is more interested in shamanism. Yongsan was not completely excluded from the start; we considered it as one of several alternatives during the process of making our pledges," he rebutted.

In response to criticism that the office relocation appears as the number one pledge over urgent livelihood issues, he said, "We have requested the transition committee to focus a lot on COVID-19 compensation and urgent livelihood issues, and measures will be announced promptly, so it is a separate matter from the office relocation." He dismissed the criticism by saying, "Providing a space where we can work while communicating with the people is ultimately serving the public."

Regarding the impact on Yongsan development, he replied that the Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff areas are subject to restrictions due to military facility protection zones, and development has continued under those restrictions, so there are no additional limitations.

Furthermore, regarding plans related to the presidential office, he said, "We will reduce Blue House staff and establish a public-private joint committee secretariat. We will break away from the existing Blue House, which dominates ministries and monopolizes power, by setting up a public-private joint committee and concretizing measures to reflect dynamic private sector ideas in the nation's core agenda." He appealed, "Once again, I ask for the understanding of the people." He added, "I also understand well that the will to communicate is more important than physical space. I will establish a press center on the first floor of the Yongsan presidential office building to communicate with the media frequently as the president."