President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol says he will relocate Cheong Wa Dae to the Ministry of National Defense compound in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District.
He held a news conference on the morning of March 20 to announce the relocation at the annex to the Korea Banking Institute, where the presidential transition committee is based, in the Samcheong-dong neighborhood of the city's Jongno-gu District.
A pledge made during his election campaign, the proposed move was announced on Jan. 27 as a key task of his administration. At the time, President-elect Yoon pledged to relocate the presidential office from the capital's Gwanghwamun area and open the present site of Cheong Wa Dae to the public.
He and his aides eventually selected the ministry compound after considering factors such as security, guards and budget.
President-elect Yoon called the relocation "no easy task" after he "meticulously" examined plans to relocate government offices to Gwanghwamun after his election, but indicated that the ministry compound and the zone for the Joint Chiefs of Staff have national security command facilities.
He added that Cheong Wa Dae thus can be "completely returned" to the people and cited "little inconvenience" to the public related to security and guards.
The presidential office's main building and secretariat are separated, thus communication between the president and his advisers is "not smooth," he added. He said the reasons for relocation were to resolve this problem as well as ensure smooth communication and efficient operations.
President-elect Yoon said he pledged the relocation to remove the closed nature of the Cheong Wa Dae area and always communicate with the people to carry out their will. He "sincerely asked" the public not to interpret the relocation as mere movement of space but as his determination to work properly and fulfill his pledges.
The president-elect said he fully recognizes that the will to communication is more important than physical space, adding that a press center to be set up on the first floor of the commander-in-chief's executive office will allow more frequent communication with the media.
After the relocation is complete, Cheong Wa Dae and its 250,000 square m of area will be opened to the public from May.
President-elect Yoon said that he will open and "return" the site of Cheong Wa Dae to the public from May 10, when his administration takes over. Along with the main building and Yeongbingwan State Guest House, he pledged to "fully return" Nokjiwon Garden, which he called the "best garden," and Sangchunjae, a lodging facility for state guests.
