Which government bodies will relocate to Sejong first in 2027?

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality are among the first agencies set to move. The phased relocations are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027.

Why will the Prosecution Service and National Police Agency move later under the Sejong relocation plan?

They are among the institutions that require separate headquarters, so they will relocate only after new office buildings are constructed. The government placed them in the later phase of the plan.

What did Prime Minister Han Seong-sook say about the scope and approach of the relocation plan?

Han said the plan covers about 350 public institutions and is the second major round of relocations after moves in the 2000s. She said the government will minimize and streamline agencies, cluster related institutions around innovation cities, and seek views from local governments, labor groups and other stakeholders.

Justice, gender equality ministries among 1st to relocate to Sejong in 2027

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Summary

The government said the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality will be among the first bodies to relocate to Sejong in a phased plan beginning in the first half of 2027. It also said institutions that need separate headquarters, including the Prosecution Service, Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and National Police Agency, will move after new buildings are completed. Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said the plan covers about 350 public institutions and is part of the second major round of relocations after moves in the 2000s. She also said the government will seek broad support while drafting the plan.

Key Facts

The relocation plan covers about 350 public institutions currently based in the capital region.
The next round also includes the presidential office and the National Assembly.
The government plans to build a presidential office in Sejong by August 2029 and complete the National Assembly’s Sejong complex by 2033.

By Yi Whan-woo

Published Sep 3, 2026 11:34 am KST
Updated Sep 3, 2026 11:53 am KST

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, center, speaks during a press conference on the relocation and restructuring of government agencies and public institutions at the Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

The government said the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality will be among the first government bodies to relocate to Sejong under a phased relocation plan set to begin in the first half of 2027.

It also said the institutions requiring separate headquarters such as the Prosecution Service and Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the National Police Agency will be relocated after new office buildings are constructed.

The announcements were made during a government-wide briefing led by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook concerning the relocation of about 350 public institutions currently based in the capital region to areas outside the region.

She was joined by Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-duk and Second Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Huh Jang.

It is the second major round of relocations, following a series of moves in the 2000s.

"We will begin phased relocations in the first half of 2027, starting with larger agencies and those expected to have a greater impact through relocation, including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality," Yun said.

The next round covers a broader range of government institutions to Sejong, including the presidential office and the National Assembly.

Han described Sejong as "both a symbol and a central pillar of balanced national development," and highlighted plans to build a presidential office there by August 2029 and complete the National Assembly’s Sejong complex by 2033.

She also said the government will cut the number of public institutions as part of restructuring efforts, under the principle of minimizing and streamlining agencies.

“It will be the largest such restructuring ever undertaken,” she noted.

Han stressed that the government will avoid “simply distributing institutions among regions as if dividing up a pie.”

“We will instead cluster related institutions around innovation cities, concentrating the energy for regional growth like a bonfire and maximizing the strength of regional hubs,” she said.

Acknowledging that the plan could face opposition and conflicting interests, Han said the government will gather views from local governments, labor groups and other stakeholders to draw up a reasonable relocation plan that can win broad support.

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