Next president's first headache: Find a place to live

The presidential residence in Yongsan, Seoul, is seen in this April 10 file photo. Yonhap

No matter who wins the upcoming presidential election, the next president will have to start from scratch. From Day One in office, he will face two rare challenges that most of his predecessors did not encounter.

First and foremost, the new president will forgo the traditional status of president-elect and immediately assume the responsibilities of office. There will be no time to savor the victory or enjoy the ceremonial aspects of a transitional period. Because the winning candidate will be declared president immediately after the final vote count, he will be sworn in without the usual two-month transition period.

This situation is reminiscent of Moon Jae-in’s inauguration in May 2017, following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Like Moon, the new president will have to assume control of government operations without the benefit of a formal handover. His predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was ousted in April after the Constitutional Court decided to impeach him for declaring martial law. As a result, the incoming president must navigate the steep learning curve of governance largely on his own, with inevitable missteps along the way.

The second challenge, while more technical, is no less pressing: finding a new place to live.

"Despite its significance and urgency, the issue of the presidential residence has received little attention in this election," political scientist Hahm Sung-deuk told The Korea Times. "It was rarely discussed, which is hardly comprehensible."

The matter has become urgent because the current presidential residence in Yongsan, Seoul, is no longer a suitable home for the head of state and his spouse. In South Korea, the presidential residence is classified as a military facility, due to the president’s role as commander-in-chief. This designation entails strict security protocols and restricted access. However, a major security breach occurred during the investigation into Yoon’s declaration of martial law.

As part of the investigation into Yoon, on Dec.31, the Seoul Western District Court issued search and detention warrants, which were executed on Jan. 3. During the police operation to detain the sitting president, major media outlets, in their scramble to cover the historic event, inadvertently compromised the security of the presidential compound.

Three television networks — JTBC, MBC and SBS — aired aerial footage and photographs taken from helicopters above the compound. In response, the presidential office filed charges against the broadcasters, stating that the residence is a protected military facility and that photographing or filming it without prior authorization is illegal.

Security remains paramount for a presidential residence, but the Yongsan compound can no longer fulfill that role — its layout and vulnerabilities have now been widely publicized.

Professor Hahm, who serves as dean of the Graduate School of Political Studies and Naun Chair Professor of Political Science and Law at Kyonggi University, emphasized that security is not the only reason the current residence is unfit. “If it were you, would you feel at home there?” he asked, implying that the residence is now tainted by Yoon’s disgraced legacy.

The underlying suggestion is clear: The association with Yoon’s controversial downfall and the political turmoil surrounding his impeachment may render the residence symbolically — and emotionally — unlivable for the new first couple.

Hahm Sung-deuk, dean of the Graduate School of Political Studies and Naun Chair Professor of Political Science and Law at Kyonggi University, speaks at a roundtable discussion held on May 2 at a Korea Times conference room. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, were the first presidential couple to live in the current presidential residence, which was previously used as the foreign minister’s home. Yoon’s Office of the President was located in the nearby Ministry of National Defense building.

In contrast, previous presidents lived and worked in Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office and residence of Korea, located near Gyeongbok Palace. Yoon made relocating the presidential office one of his campaign pledges for the 2022 presidential election.

He justified the move by claiming that he wanted to enhance communication with the public — something he argued was hindered by the layout of Cheong Wa Dae. “In Cheong Wa Dae, the main building housing the Office of the President is far from the offices of presidential secretaries and staff,” Yoon said. This inefficient layout forced staff to walk nearly 0.5 kilometers just to report directly to the president.

Another major reason Yoon cited was his desire to break away from the "emperor-like" model of the presidency, which he criticized as outdated and undemocratic. He vowed to end what he called the "pre-modern legacy" of presidents acting as though they were above the law.

However, the relocation of both the presidential office and residence came at a high cost.

Foreign Minister Park Jin and his successor, Cho Tae-yul, were effectively displaced as the Yoon couple repurposed the top diplomat’s official residence. Additionally, parts of the Ministry of National Defense had to vacate their headquarters to accommodate the new Office of the President. On top of these disruptions, the relocation reportedly cost taxpayers more than 1 trillion won ($727 million).

Despite the controversy, Yoon pushed through the plan.

To this day, it remains unclear whether his stated reasons — improving public engagement and dismantling the imperial presidency — were genuine motives for the relocation.

Now, the issue of the presidential residence has become a headache for Yoon’s successor. Despite its urgency, there has been little public debate over whether the next president should continue living in the current residence.

Rep. Kim Min-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea raised several concerns during an April 8 interview on MBC Radio. “First and foremost, the relocation was executed unilaterally by the Yoon administration, without any public consensus,” he said. “Second, this is the same site where Yoon and his aides planned what amounted to a coup — the declaration of martial law. Third, it makes no sense that the Ministry of National Defense and the presidential residence share the same neighborhood.”

Professor Hahm agreed with Kim’s assessment. “Right now, the president, the National Assembly speaker, the defense minister, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court all reside in Yongsan. This is nonsensical — if not outright dangerous — from a national security standpoint,” he said. “The top figures representing the executive, legislative and judicial branches should not be concentrated in one area. They should be dispersed.”

Hahm proposed a temporary solution that the next president consider residing in the prime minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, near the Cheong Wa Dae compound.

“The residence is currently vacant, as Han Duck-soo stepped down as prime minister earlier this month,” he said. Even if a new prime minister is appointed, Hahm argued, the president and first lady could still live there. “It would be more efficient for the prime minister to live in Sejong City, where most Cabinet ministries are based. The prime minister oversees policy coordination and Cabinet meetings, which can be handled from there.”

Hahm concluded by suggesting that the foreign minister should move into the current presidential residence, as it was originally built for the country’s top diplomat.

This 2022 file photo shows Cheong Wa Dae. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul