Defense Ministry begins return to Yoon's old Yongsan office
After four years sharing space with the Joint Chiefs, the ministry is moving back into its former Yongsan headquarters by mid-August at a cost of 20.6 billion won ($14.1 million).
Presidential office staff lower the phoenix flag, right, symbolizing the presidency, on April 4, 2025, in Yongsan District, central Seoul, after the Constitutional Court removed President Yoon Suk Yeol from office.JOINT PRESS CORPS
The Ministry of National Defense is moving back into the 10-story Yongsan building it handed to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential office four years ago. The ministry has spent that time sharing quarters with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Departments began moving out of the Joint Chiefs building last Tuesday, government sources said on Monday. The press room and the minister's office will follow in early August, and the ministry will finish the relocation around Aug. 14.
The Defense Ministry's spokesperson gave a final weekly briefing at the current building on Monday morning. The briefings will stop for two weeks.
The Cabinet approved 20.6 billion won ($14.1 million) from the general reserve fund in April to pay for the move. The total covers 12.4 billion won for network cabling, computers and video equipment for conference rooms; 6.2 billion won for repairs to the building; and 2 billion won for freight.
The ministry had occupied the Yongsan main building from November 2003 to May 2022, when the Yoon Suk Yeol administration moved the presidential office to it from the Blue House.
Ministry departments then shifted across a road inside the compound into the Joint Chiefs building. Space ran short, and some departments and units under the ministry's direct command ended up scattered at sites inside and outside the compound.
Presidential office staff lower the phoenix flag, symbolizing the presidency, on April 4, 2025, in Yongsan District, central Seoul, after the Constitutional Court removed President Yoon Suk Yeol from office.JOINT PRESS CORPS
When the move is complete, the ministry and the Joint Chiefs will each have a building to themselves again.
The Defense Ministry began preparing to return after the Lee Jae Myung administration moved the president's workplace back to the Blue House in December 2025. Other ministries had hoped to take over the Yongsan building, but the plan to hand the old main building back to the Defense Ministry was settled.
Amenities installed on the second floor during Yoon's term, including a sauna lined with hinoki cypress, were torn out during the repair work.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
