President's Office Relocation: Yongsan District Mayor Urges "Development Plan Retraction and Traffic Measures Needed"

Yongsan US Military Base Return Urged Amid Resident Concerns
"Residents Will Be Devastated if Development Plans Shrink or Fail"
Lack of Communication with President-Elect on Office Relocation Criticized
"Such Issues Must Be Discussed with Local Government Leaders"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Yongsan District Mayor Seong Seong-hyun urged measures to prevent increased inconvenience such as development plan shrinkage, traffic congestion, and rallies as President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's office is set to move to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building.

At a press briefing held at Seoul City Hall on the 21st for the opening of the Yongsan History Museum, Mayor Seong said, "If the presidential office moves in and development plans are canceled or shrunk, the feelings of Yongsan residents will be truly devastated," adding, "We must establish measures against obvious traffic controls, rallies, protests, and traffic congestion to ensure that the situation for Yongsan residents does not worsen."

Mayor Seong said, "It would be good if, with the presidential office moving into the Ministry of National Defense building, Yongsan residents could resolve the pain and property damage they have suffered due to the US military base and also proceed with development."

He also emphasized the need to expedite the return of the US military base in Yongsan, mentioning the traffic inconveniences and difficulties in exercising property rights caused by the Yongsan US military base. As of the end of last month, only about 10% of the 2.03 million square meters of the Yongsan US military base land has been returned.

Mayor Seong criticized, "The promise to return the US military base must be kept quickly. I don't know where the government's promise to create a park and open it to the public by 2027 has gone. There is no clear timeline for when the return will be completed," adding, "They say they will return one-tenth by the first half of the year, but we don't even know based on how many pyeong (Korean unit of area)."

A bird's-eye view image revealed during a press conference held by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on the 20th at the Presidential Transition Committee located in the annex of the Korea Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding the relocation of the Blue House presidential office to the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Regarding the presidential office relocation, Mayor Seong said, "They say they are moving to communicate with the people, but no one gave me a heads-up about the move to Yongsan," and asked, "Is this communication? Is just cleaning up after the decision to move the office considered communication?"

He said, "Shouldn't the heads of local governments, such as district mayors or mayors, take the lead in cooperating with central government decisions?" and added, "I hope that the next elected district mayor and local government heads will definitely discuss these issues in the future."

Mayor Seong added, "I told the staff that regarding the office relocation, we must thoroughly analyze what we need to prepare, what we need to persuade, and what benefits and problems are expected, so that we have definite answers."

Meanwhile, Yongsan District will open the Yongsan History Museum near Yongsan Station on the 23rd. The museum is housed in the remodeled Yongsan Railroad Hospital building, established in 1928, preserving its framework while exhibiting maps and artifacts that capture Yongsan's history.

Mayor Seong said, "Although people have lived in the Yongsan area for over 100 years, modern and contemporary history was not well organized, so we have prepared the museum opening as a long-term plan, forming a museum advisory group and artifact collection team to gather 4,058 items," adding, "There are more than 20 museums in Yongsan, and we will create tour courses so tourists can tour the museums, turning it into a tourism product to contribute to Yongsan's economy."