South Korea president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to move presidential office to Defense ministry compound

Conservative Yoon Suk-yeol was elected as South Korea’s new leader early this month, succeeding Moon Jae-in. Yoon announced over the weekend that he plans to move the presidential office out of the Blue House to another location.

Yoon announced Sunday that he plans to move the presidential office out of its current location and to the Defense Ministry complex once he takes office in May after his inauguration. The move is symbolic as Yoon cited that he intends to be closer to the public as president. Yoon said that the Blue House, which is the current presidential palace, is a symbol of excessive power.

Moving the presidential office was one of Yoon’s campaign promises, but attracted some controversy over the costs of relocating the presidential office elsewhere. According to the incoming South Korean president, the cost of relocating the presidential office would be around $41 million or nearly 50 billion won.

Yoon was elected president on March 9 by a thin margin against his Liberal opponent Lee Jae-myung. Upon taking office, Yoon will have to tackle the ongoing situation with North Korea, as Pyongyang has continued its test launches so far this year.

Yoon has also indicated that he intends to take a tougher stance on North Korea, saying that while he is open to reviving denuclearization talks, pre-emptive strikes may be needed to counter a potential missile attack from Pyongyang.

Moon’s office has previously briefed Yoon a few weeks back that another test launch was imminent, and it would not be surprising if it happened at any moment, according to South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper. Another South Korean news outlet, Yonhap, also reported at the time that both South Korea and the US have detected signs of an upcoming weapons test from North Korea.

Moon’s national security adviser, Suh Hoon, briefed Yoon regarding foreign policy and national security issues, according to the Yonhap news report. A spokesperson for Moon’s office also said that Suh briefed Yoon about the recent movements in North Korea, including recent missile launches and other issues such as the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye told reporters that there would be more briefings to come for Yoon but did not confirm details regarding the security issues.