Back to Cheong Wa Dae? Lee Jae-myung’s proposal sparks debate over public access

People enter the Cheong Wa Dae compound in central Seoul, May 26, 2022. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Presidential contender Rep. Lee Jae-myung’s proposal to move the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae has reopened a divisive national debate — not only about public access to the symbolic site but also about how presidential power should be situated in Korea.

In the liberal Democratic Party of Korea’s first televised primary debate on Friday, Lee said that if he is elected, he would continue using the current presidential office in Yongsan District for the time being but move to Cheong Wa Dae “after necessary repairs are made.”

He said he eventually wants to move the presidential office to Sejong City, the nation's administrative capital. But he added that moving directly to Sejong is unrealistic at this point, calling Cheong Wa Dae "a feasible interim step.”

Cheong Wa Dae was the presidential office and the president's official residence from 1948 to 2022.

Some former presidents, including Kim Young-sam and Moon Jae-in, suggested moving out of the compound in an effort to break away from the insular, top-down culture long associated with the presidency. But attempts repeatedly stalled due to insufficient funding and inconsistent political support.

But the recently impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol left the place "to become closer to the people" and moved the presidential office to its current location, in the former defense ministry building next to a mostly empty U.S. Army garrison.

On the day of Yoon's inauguration on May 10, 2022, Cheong Wa Dae was opened to the public. Once a closed-off symbol of centralized power, the compound now serves as a cultural venue hosting exhibitions, concerts and educational events. It has welcomed more than 7 million visitors, including over 800,000 from overseas.

Civic and cultural organizations warn that restoring the site as the presidential office would almost certainly limit public access. Heightened security protocols would likely curtail entry, and many of the public programs currently offered on the compound may be discontinued under a government-use model.

Lee says relocating the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae will be temporary before eventually relocating it to Sejong. “That should be our final destination,” he said.

From left, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon, former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo and Rep. Lee Jae-myung, presidential primary candidates of the Democratic Party of Korea, pose together before starting their first TV debate at MBC in Mapo District, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Other DPK contenders shared their views of moving the presidential office to Sejong to decentralize Seoul and promote more balanced regional development. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon pledged to begin working from Sejong immediately if elected, while former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo supports operating dual offices at Government Complex Seoul in Gwanghwamun and Government Complex Sejong during the transition.

Among conservative contenders, opinions are divided on the location of the presidential office.

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, one of the potential candidates from the conservative People Power Party (PPP), argued that restoring Cheong Wa Dae would reaffirm national tradition and historical continuity. PPP Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo also suggested using parts of Cheong Wa Dae as the presidential office and keeping the rest open to the public. But former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said a new president would have no choice but to start work at the current Yongsan office, while Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party vowed to move to Sejong.

Still, moving the presidential office to Sejong requires significant logistical and legal hurdles. A Constitutional Court ruling in 2004 upheld Seoul’s status as the capital under customary law, meaning any relocation would require a constitutional amendment and a national referendum.

Lee Jae-myung himself acknowledged that a constitutional amendment would be required to make moving the presidential office to Sejong viable.