Protests Continue in Front of the Presidential Office...
Residents and Business Owners Voice Their Suffering
Shouting Toward the President-less Office: "Yoon Has Been Wronged"
"No Matter Who Becomes President... I Hope They Don't Come to Yongsan"
On the 22nd, in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office, it was a day of pouring rain. Security personnel in black suits were still stationed near the Presidential Office, but after former President Yoon Seokyeol was removed from office on April 4, there was no one entering the now-empty building that housed the presidential residence. Just a year ago, large-scale rallies and protests were held in front of the Presidential Office regardless of snow or rain, but now they were hard to find. Only a few foreign tourists visiting the War Memorial of Korea, located across from the Yongsan Presidential Office, passed by.
On the 22nd, Song Jeongsun (77, female) held a protest in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office, urging the return of former President Yoon Seokyeol. Photo by Gong Byungseon
Of course, there are people who come to the Yongsan Presidential Office every day. Song Jeongsun (77, female) has been protesting in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office every day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the past two years and five months. At 9 a.m. that day, despite the pouring rain, Song wore a placard around her neck that read "Return my apartment." She shouted through a loudspeaker toward the Presidential Office, now without a president, "Constitutional Court justices who are trying to make Lee Jaemyung president should resign!"
Song lives in Giheung-gu, Yongin. Every day, she takes the first bus and transfers three times on public transportation to get here. She first came to the Presidential Office to appeal to former President Yoon about a dispute over apartment ownership in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. However, since the 12·3 martial law incident last December, her motivation has changed. Driven by her conviction to protect former President Yoon, she now comes every day to shout that he has been wronged. She argues that the 12·3 martial law was justified because the Democratic Party and other opposition parties attempted impeachment 29 times and disrupted the administration of state affairs.
"The president is not in Yongsan, but there are still people and staff working here, so I appeal in this way."
Jung Insu (62, male), who runs an art wholesale and retail business near the Yongsan Presidential Office, complained that he suffered due to gatherings and protests. Photo by Gong Byungseon
However, there are people who are uncomfortable with such protests. They are residents or business owners near the Yongsan Presidential Office. Jung Insu (62, male), who runs an art wholesale and retail business near the Yongsan Presidential Office, complained that he has not had a single peaceful day since former President Yoon moved to Yongsan about three years ago.
Regardless of whether the rallies were conservative or progressive, the ear-splitting noise from the protests would reach inside his store every time. Police would block vehicle access for crowd control, causing customers who had to park far away to complain. Jung said, "After former President Yoon moved to Yongsan, checking the rally schedule became part of my daily routine. But do the civic groups hold their rallies quietly? Not at all. There were cigarette butts in every alley, and some people even urinated on the walls," he added.
Im (72, male), a resident of the area, pointed out that the Presidential Office should never have been moved to Yongsan in the first place. Since the Ministry of National Defense annex was built in 1970, this area had been a military zone, but former President Yoon disrupted that. He said, "When former President Yoon moved the Presidential Office to Yongsan, the security service ended up surrounding the Ministry of National Defense. It was wrong from the beginning. Residents and business owners who had adapted to the environment with the Ministry of National Defense have only experienced stress since the Presidential Office arrived," he said.
On April 18, at the Sangam MBC Studio in Mapo-gu, Seoul, candidates Lee Jae Myung (from the right), Kim Kyung Soo, and Kim Dong Yeon posed for a commemorative photo during the first TV debate of the 21st presidential candidate Democratic Party primary. 2025.4.18 Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
The Yongsan Presidential Office Relocation Becomes a Hot Issue
What do local residents and business owners think about the next president moving into the Yongsan Presidential Office? One of the key issues in the upcoming 21st presidential election on June 3 is the relocation of the Yongsan Presidential Office. On April 17, Democratic Party primary candidate Lee Jaemyung pledged on his social media to "build the National Assembly Sejong Office and the Presidential Sejong Office within his term," promising to relocate the Presidential Office. Candidates Kim Kyungsoo and Kim Dongyeon also promised to move the Presidential Office to Sejong.
Presidential candidates from the People Power Party oppose relocating the Presidential Office to Sejong, but are mentioning a return to the Blue House. On April 15, Hong Junpyo, a People Power Party primary candidate, said at the "Vision for an Advanced Nation" forum, "The Blue House is a symbol of national dignity and the country. The president should return to the Blue House." However, candidate Han Donghoon stated that he would first move into the Yongsan Presidential Office, then gather public opinion and formulate a relocation plan.
People in Yongsan wanted the Presidential Office to disappear as soon as possible. Regardless of who takes office, they would have to endure more rallies and protests once the new term begins. Jung was worried about what would happen after the June 3 election. "The first six months of former President Yoon's term were the noisiest. If candidate Lee Jaemyung wins, conservative groups will probably flock here to protest. Residents near the Yongsan Presidential Office are already gathering to discuss how noisy it will be after this election," he said.
Local business owners said that while daytime business improved due to frequent police presence during rallies, evening business suffered just as much. In the past, people who worked at the Ministry of National Defense frequented the area, but after the Presidential Office moved in, large evening gatherings disappeared. They speculated among themselves whether the Presidential Office had banned company dinners or if relations between the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense had soured, but no one knew for sure.
Ha Hoeyong (67, male), who has run a Chinese restaurant near the Yongsan Presidential Office for 10 years, was confident that the departure of the Presidential Office would not significantly affect his sales. He said that sales would be stable as long as office workers from the Ministry of National Defense and Welcome Savings Bank continued to visit. Ha said, "Of course, there were some benefits when the Presidential Office arrived. But because of the rallies, the area became chaotic and sales were as unstable as a roller coaster. In fact, sales were more stable before the Presidential Office came, thanks to regular gatherings from the Ministry of National Defense," he said.
Business owners on Yongridan-gil were also preparing to say goodbye to the Presidential Office. The area had already become a popular dating spot, and they expected that even more people would visit once the rallies and protests disappeared along with the Presidential Office. Kang Byunghoon (32, male), who runs a cafe on Yongridan-gil, said, "I hope the next president doesn't come to Yongsan, whoever it is. When the rallies were really loud, the music inside the cafe was drowned out by protest chants, and road closures by police became routine. If the Yongsan Presidential Office disappears, business owners will be happier," he said.
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