[Gwanga in] Bank of Korea Returns to the 'Namdaemun Era'... What About the Trillions in Cash Transfers?

Relocation of Namdaemun Main Store After 6 Years... Selected by CJ Logistics
Trillions Temporarily Stored at Gangnam Headquarters Also Transferred Back

The Bank of Korea is ending its six-year 'jeonse living' and returning as the 'landlord of Namdaemun.' The Bank has recently virtually selected CJ Logistics as the company responsible for moving to the newly constructed headquarters and has begun full-scale preparations for the move. The Bank's personnel, currently scattered across the Samsung Main Building on Sejong-daero, the Sogong Annex on Namdaemun-ro, and the Gangnam Headquarters on Teheran-ro, will also be consolidated into one location. The trillions of won in cash temporarily stored at the Gangnam Headquarters vault will be secretly transferred to the Namdaemun Main Building vault.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 31st, starting from early to mid-April, the departments, various documents, and office equipment dispersed across the Samsung Main Building and Sogong Annex will begin moving to the Bank's Main Building and Integrated Annex. The plan is to complete the move by May 12 at the latest. This marks six years since the Bank began 'jeonse living' in the Samsung Main Building in mid-2017 due to reconstruction and remodeling of the headquarters building. Originally, the Bank aimed to complete the construction by 2020, the 70th anniversary of its founding, but the period was delayed by about twice as long due to construction bid lawsuits and COVID-19.

In the moving service bid held last week, CJ Logistics won the contract. The volume of office goods to be moved amounts to 2,012 trucks of 1-ton capacity, with costs reaching 443 million won. A Bank of Korea official said, "We planned the move with ample time because the move can only happen after the main building receives usage approval," adding, "We plan to finalize the contract with CJ Logistics after verifying the necessary documents."

The Bank of Korea started in January 1912 at the Bank of Joseon (now the Currency Museum), built by Japan, and except for briefly moving its headquarters to Busan during the Korean War in 1950, it has continuously guarded Namdaemun. As the organization expanded, it built the 2nd Annex in 1932 and the 1st Annex in 1964, and in 1987 completed the main building with 16 floors above ground and 3 underground. Still facing a shortage of office space, it purchased the Sogong Annex opposite the main building in 2005.

The move to the new main building is expected to be a turning point for the Bank of Korea's new leap forward. Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, emphasized in his New Year's address earlier this year, "The headquarters construction, which has been ongoing for several years, is nearing completion, and in a few months, we will return to the original place where we have worked since 1950 to carry out our duties," adding, "I hope this year will be one in which the Bank makes a vigorous leap forward in a new environment." Lee Seung-heon, Deputy Governor, also said at the New Year's press conference, "Entering the new building in April is very moving," and "This year will see new transitions, including organizational restructuring."

There is also keen interest inside and outside the Bank regarding the trillions of won in cash to be moved this time. The Bank stores new bills and unissued currency in its vaults before releasing them into the market. It is known that the cash stored in the underground vault of the Bank's main building before reconstruction amounts to trillions of won. Considering that a 10kg apple box can hold up to 1.2 billion won in 50,000 won bills, roughly 5,000 to 10,000 apple boxes worth of cash must be transported from Gangnam to Namdaemun.

Because the cash transfer involves trillions of won, it will be conducted in utmost secrecy, separate from the moving schedule. When moving out in 2017, cash was partially transferred to the Gangnam Headquarters vault in portions as new currency was supplied, to split the move. Moving such a huge amount of cash all at once poses significant security risks. At that time, cash transfer was completed before the headquarters move.

However, this time, more time is needed to prepare the vault and transport equipment, so the cash transfer operation is expected to begin in earnest around July to August, coinciding with the move of the Issuance Bureau located at the Gangnam Headquarters. Details such as the transportation method, timing, and cash volume are all confidential, but it is expected that dozens of cash transport vehicles and security personnel will be mobilized. A Bank of Korea official said, "Since the Gangnam Headquarters must continue supply operations, not all stored cash will be moved," adding, "We plan to establish detailed plans soon."