24-Hour Operations Considered for Police Substations Near Blue House as Presidential Office Return Expected This Year

Jongno Police Substations May Return to 24-Hour Operations
Presidential Residence Relocation Expected in First Half of Next Year

With the return of the presidential office to the Blue House expected to be finalized within the year, the police are stepping up preparations for security and public order.

On November 9, Yonhap News Agency reported that the Jongno Police Station in Seoul is considering reinstating 24-hour operations at police substations near the Blue House to coincide with the return of the presidential office.

Currently, the Tongui and Ogin substations are operating with reduced staff and are only open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. However, it is highly likely that they will return to a shift system with four teams of five officers each working in rotation.

The 101st Security Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, responsible for presidential security, and the 202nd Security Unit, in charge of perimeter security, have also completed their preparations for the move. The 101st Security Unit is currently renovating buildings within the Blue House compound, and some personnel are already on site, carrying out interior construction work and monitoring external visitors. The 202nd Security Unit is scheduled to return to its previous building in Changseong-dong, Jongno-gu, and the existing centers have already been vacated.

Main building of the Blue House. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The police expect the presidential office to return to the Blue House after mid-December, while the relocation of the presidential residence is projected to continue through the first half of next year, considering security and the scale of construction.

At a National Assembly steering committee audit of the presidential office on November 6, Kang Hoonshik, Chief Presidential Secretary, responded to a question from Lee Hoonki, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding the relocation plan for the Yongsan presidential office, stating, "Construction is underway with the goal of completion within the year." He added, "The relocation of the presidential residence is proceeding on a different scale due to security issues." He further commented, "Staff of the presidential office may be able to move by the end of the year, but the President himself may not be able to do so by then. We will have to see through the first half of next year."

The Blue House was opened to the public in May 2022 after former President Yoon Sukyeol moved the presidential office to Yongsan. However, following the Lee Jaemyung administration's announcement of plans to return to the Blue House, public tours were suspended as of August 1 this year.

If the Blue House area is once again designated as a security zone, changes are expected in the operation of cultural events and the management of rallies and demonstrations that have utilized nearby roads. Currently, Article 11 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act, which prohibits assemblies, lost its effect after being ruled unconstitutional in 2022, making a blanket ban impossible. The police are preparing separate measures within the current legal framework to maintain public order.