Defense Ministry set to return to Yongsan compound: officials

The Defense Ministry is set to move its headquarters back to its original compound, where the presidential office was previously located, more than three years and 10 months after it was forced to relocate to make way for the presidential office.

According to military authorities on Thursday, the Finance Ministry approved a plan in late January allowing the Defense Ministry to reoccupy its former headquarters building, clearing the way for the relocation.

The ministry moved to its current building in April 2022 under former President Yoon Suk Yeol, after he relocated the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul’s Jongno to the Defense Ministry compound in Yongsan, both in Seoul.

Although the Lee Jae Myung administration moved the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae in December, uncertainty lingered over whether the ministry could return, as it had yet to obtain approval from the Finance Ministry to use the state-owned property.

Under South Korea’s state property law, approval from the Finance Ministry is required for such relocation, as the ministry oversees the use or disposal of national assets, including government headquarters.

According to Defense Ministry officials, the military is currently undergoing administrative procedures to handle assets remaining in the current building.

The ministry is reviewing relocation timelines by factoring in office reallocation plans and the time required for facility repairs and network construction.

“Yet it is difficult to specify an exact moving date at this stage,” officials said.

The ministry is also in talks with budget authorities to use about 23.9 billion won ($16.6 million) for the move.

The costs include 13.3 billion won for network infrastructure such as computers and communications equipment, 6.56 billion won for facility maintenance, and 4 billion won for transport and moving services.

Once the ministry returns to its former compound, the building it currently shares is likely to be used solely by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Following the Yoon administration’s relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan, the Defense Ministry moved into the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in April 2022, and the two have since operated in the same building.

The ministry’s return is also expected to trigger a broader consolidation of affiliated military units that had been dispersed outside Yongsan after the 2022 move.