Is Yongsan's brief time as seat of presidency coming to an end?

In 2022, former President Yoon Suk Yeol pushed forward with a controversial and costly plan to relocate South Korea’s presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential compound used since 1948, to the former Defense Ministry headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Nearly three years later, the future of the new presidential office has become a key issue in the presidential election campaign, with some leading candidates pledging to reverse the move.

Several of them — on both sides of the political divide — even suggest that the current presidential office symbolizes Yoon's alleged collusion with military leaders in the martial law declaration.

In March 2022, then-President-elect Yoon announced plans to shut down the Cheong Wa Dae presidential compound and open the space to the public. He also declared his intention to never work there, framing the decision as a break from the era of the "imperial presidency" — an argument also used by his predecessor in his aborted attempt to relocate the presidential office.

Yoon’s abrupt move forced his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, to vacate Cheong Wa Dae before the presidential transition period officially ended.

The relocation raised suspicions among Yoon’s political opponents, who questioned whether his decision was influenced by mysticism.

In November, just a month before Yoon's martial law declaration, the liberal Democratic Party of Korea released a recording of a phone conversation between Yoon’s former political consultant, Myung Tae-kyun, and a friend.

The conversation, which took place in April 2022, suggested that Myung had advised Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, to avoid using Cheong Wa Dae as the presidential office, claiming she “will die” if she did.

Moreover, the liberal party, which was the main opposition party during Yoon's term, has long suggested that the current location is far from optimal for a presidential office because it is near the Defense Ministry, the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Yongsan Garrison of the United States Forces Korea.

The Democratic Party's Rep. Kim Min-seok described on April 8 the presidential office in Yongsan as "the center of plotting military coup d'etat," because of the office's proximity to the military headquarters.

Democratic Party of Korea politicians claimed leaked Pentagon documents in April 2023, which appeared to show that the US had eavesdropped on allies' communications, including those of South Korea, highlighted security concerns raised by the presidential office relocation.

The party's Rep. Kim Byoung-joo claimed in April 2023 that the leak "might have to do with the sketchy presidential office relocation" close to where US Forces Korea is stationed.

As South Korea’s presidential race heats up, liberal candidates are pledging to end the operation of the presidential office in Yongsan, with several calling for its closure as soon as the next administration takes office.

Among the most outspoken proponents of this move are Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon and former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo. Both have argued that the presidential office in Yongsan should be shut down from the very first day of the next presidential term.

Kim Kyoung-soo went further, labeling the Yongsan office a "symbol of insurrection" and asserting that he would not use it. Instead, he proposed operating dual offices in Seoul and Sejong, without involving Yongsan at all. Kim made these remarks while announcing his presidential bid in the de facto administrative city of Sejong.

Kim Dong-yeon, for his part, echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that relocating the presidential office to Sejong could happen immediately if accompanied by a reduction in the size of the presidential secretariat.

But practical limitations could stand in the way of an immediate exit, especially as the new president will have no transition period.

Also, questions remain over the feasibility of the candidates' proposed office locations. In 2017, former President Moon Jae-in pledged to move the presidential office to the Goverment Complex Seoul in Gwanghwamun, but abandoned the plan after security issues were raised.

There is also no dedicated secondary presidential office already in place, and Cheong Wa Dae has now partially been converted into a public park and cultural space.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the liberal front-runner, has taken a more cautious approach. While critical of former President Yoon, Lee has expressed openness to temporarily using the Yongsan office until Cheong Wa Dae undergoes renovation. He also proposed that, within his term, the presidential office would eventually be moved to a new building in Sejong.

Those with conservative political affiliations are also eyeing a move.

Two People Power Party presidential candidates, namely former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and four-term lawmaker Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, proposed the next president returns to Cheong Wa Dae.

Hong said on April 15 that Cheong Wa Dae "is a symbol of national dignity," adding, "I thought former President Yoon was doing something wrong when he moved out of Cheong Wa Dae."

Hong also said earlier, as he stepped down from his mayoral position on April 8, that the presidential office in Yongsan "denotes (Yoon's) lack of communication and mysticism."

Minority conservative party presidential candidate Rep. Lee Jun-seok said Saturday that he would move the presidential office to Sejong "without considering political advantages or disadvantages."

Lee, who formerly led the conservative People Power Party, added that he would break ground for a new presidential office in Sejong immediately after he wins the election, and use a makeshift office in the Government Complex Seoul near Cheong Wa Dae in the meantime.

Among the right-wing presidential hopefuls, former conservative party leader Han Dong-hoon and former labor minister Kim Moon-soo are the only figures who did not express an intention to ditch the office in Yongsan-gu.