Yoon's temporary office to be set up on 5th floor of defense ministry building

The Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul / Yonhap

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's temporary office will be set up on the fifth floor of the defense ministry headquarters before a permanent office is established on the second floor, officials said Monday.

Yoon will be the first president to work from what is now the defense ministry compound, as he decided to move the presidential office there to keep his campaign promise to return Cheong Wa Dae to the public.

"Starting May 10, President-elect Yoon will work from the fifth floor, and the permanent office will be set up on the second floor," Rep. Yoon Han-hong, who heads a relocation task force, said during a press briefing, referring to Yoon's inauguration date.

"Once the defense ministry moves out after the combined Korea-U.S. military exercises, the second to fourth floors will be remodeled," he said.

The sixth floor will be reserved for Yoon's aides, while the presidential security service will move onto the ninth floor.

A press room will be set up on the first floor.

Relocating the presidential office has also meant moving the presidential residence out of Cheong Wa Dae.

The foreign minister's official residence, which is located near the defense ministry compound, will be remodeled into the new presidential residence after May 10.

Yoon is expected to commute from his private residence in southern Seoul for a month while the renovation is under way.

"The distance from Seocho-dong (Yoon's private home) to the (new) Yongsan office is seven to eight kilometers, and the travel time is around 10 minutes," Kim Yong-hyun, a member of the task force, said at the briefing, adding the president-elect plans to travel during hours that will minimize traffic disruptions and take various routes.

On whether a new presidential residence could be built on the defense ministry compound, Kim said no such discussions have taken place. (Yonhap)