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Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building. / Yonhap

The Ministry of National Defense, which surrendered its building following the relocate of the presidential office to Yongsan under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, is returning to its former building after four years.

According to the government on July 27, the Ministry of National Defense began the relocation process on July 21 and is moving sequential procedures by department.

On this day, Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson Jeong Bit-na presided over the final regular briefing at the current building, and when asked by a reporter about her thoughts, she said, "I do not think it is a matter on which I can express my personal thoughts," while adding, "I understand that we came here about four years and three months ago and are now returning to our original location. Upon moving to the new building, the spokesperson's office will strive to communicate more closely with journalists and work efficiently."

The Ministry of National Defense plans to move major departments and the press room to the new building in earnest starting early next month, completing the relocation process around August 14 with the minister's office being the last to move.

The new building to be moved into is a 10-story building that was used as the Yongsan presidential office during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The Ministry of National Defense had used this building since 2003, but surrendered it to the Presidential Office in May 2022 following the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's relocate of the presidential office to Yongsan. It then moved to the Joint Chiefs of Staff building located across the street. Since then, the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have coexisted in the same building for more than four years.

President Lee Jae-myung pledged to relocate the presidential office as a campaign promise, and as the presidential office was returned to Blue House in December last year, the Yongsan building remained vacant for half a year. The Ministry of National Defense has been carrying out internal renovation work to use this building as its headquarters and is reported to have recently completed it.

General reserve funds of 20.58 billion won, approved at a Cabinet meeting last April, were invested in the relocation of the Ministry of National Defense building. The budget includes 12.4 billion won for network establishment, 6.2 billion won for facility repair, and 2 billion won for cargo relocation.

                                                                                                              Lee Han-sol