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| Defense ministry officials get ready to move out to a new office, Thursday. Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
As he wished, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will begin his term in Yongsan next month, but he will have to work out of a temporary office, according to his transition team, Thursday.
Yoon had wanted to move the presidential office to the defense ministry building in Yongsan District in time for his May 10 inauguration, but due to concerns over a possible national security vacuum created by conducting such a major move in a hasty manner, the current Moon Jae-in administration approved only part of the funds for the plan, in an extraordinary Cabinet meeting Wednesday, meaning that the complete relocation will be delayed until at least the end of June.
"On May 10, when the new administration will launch and begin work, President Yoon Suk-yeol will begin performing his presidential duties without leaving a security vacuum," a transition team official told reporters.
According to the official, there are two main factors to consider in the relocation, with one being the completion of a crisis management center that will ensure there is no gap in national security, and the other being whether the new president will start his duties at his new office, in what is now the defense ministry building.
"Both conditions will be met by May 10," the official added.
During the election campaign, Yoon vowed to open the "new Gwanghwamun era" by working out of the Seoul Government Complex, so as to depart from the country's legacy of "imperial" presidencies and improve communication with the people and press. However, citing the lack of space for the required security personnel in the complex, the transition team came up the defense ministry building as its plan B, with Yoon announcing the relocation plan on March 20. As a result, the defense ministry will have to move to the nearby Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) building.
However, according to the transition committee, Yoon may have to work out of a temporary office of the ministry building, as the lower floors of the building, where the president will set up his office eventually, won't be vacated until after Korea-U.S. combined military drills scheduled for April 18 to 28.
"Of course, it will proceed in parts and stages," the official said.
According to the defense ministry, Thursday, its move to the JCS building will be completed by May 14.
If the relocation is not completed by his inauguration, Yoon's side had said earlier that he will continue to work from the transition team's office in Tongui-dong, Jongno District.
According to the Yoon's transition team, the relocation project is estimated to cost around 49.6 billion won ($40.7 million), including 11.8 billion won for moving the defense ministry to the JCS building in the same compound, 25.2 billion won for renovating the defense ministry building into the presidential office, 9.9 billion won for moving the office of the Presidential Security Service and 2.5 billion won for renovating the official residence of the Army chief of staff into the presidential residence.
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