Defense ministry seeks $16 mil. to cover cost of move back to Yongsan headquarters

The former Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Seoul, now serving as the presidential office. Newsis

The Ministry of National Defense is requesting an additional 23.86 billion won ($16.2 million) in next year's budget to help cover its return to its former headquarters in Yongsan District, as the presidential office is set to move back to the Cheong Wa Dae compound.

Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the main opposition People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, said the defense ministry informed lawmakers that relocating its offices along with those of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be necessary once the presidential office returns to Cheong Wa Dae.

When former President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May 2022, he relocated the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul to the former Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan.

The move was presented as a break from what critics called the “imperial presidency” of Cheong Wa Dae and a way to reopen the historic compound to the public. To accommodate the transition, the Yongsan facility underwent extensive renovations in 2022, including upgraded communications systems, expanded media rooms and enhanced security infrastructure, converting the former defense headquarters into a fully functioning presidential office.

The defense ministry said the funds for the move back would include 13.3 billion won for network systems — including network installations, PCs and conference room video equipment — 6.56 billion won for facility repairs and 4 billion won for moving costs.

The committee approved the request during its review of the 2026 defense budget, and the proposal now awaits examination by the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

The ministry plans to restore the defense ministry and Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) buildings to their pre-May 2022 layout, before the Yoon administration moved the presidential office to Yongsan. The current 10-story presidential office building had served as the ministry’s main headquarters since 2003.

After the relocation, the ministry moved into the adjacent JCS building, forcing the two organizations to share one facility for more than three years. Some ministry departments and subordinate units remain scattered inside and outside the compound due to space shortages.

The Lee Jae Myung administration is preparing to return the presidential office to Cheong Wa Dae before the end of the year.

Defense ministry officials said the most likely course is to move back into its former Yongsan building once the presidential office vacates it, restoring the adjacent structure for exclusive JCS use.

“A detailed inspection of the building has been difficult due to presidential office security, but we requested the necessary budget in advance to prepare for relocation,” a ministry official said. “We plan to reestablish the defense ministry and JCS offices as they were before May 2022.”