[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] What Will Be the Residences of Military Generals for President-elect Yoon?

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] As the plan to establish President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential office in the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is virtually confirmed, attention is focusing on the official residences affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense. Currently, these residences are used by key command personnel such as the Minister of National Defense and the Army Chief of Staff, but they are expected to be used as the presidential residence in the future.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 16th, there are a total of seven official residences owned by the Ministry located in Seoul. In Hannam-dong, Seoul, there are official residences for the Minister of National Defense (established in 1965), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1971), Deputy Commander of the Combined Forces Command (1968), Army Chief of Staff (1975), and Commandant of the Marine Corps (1962). Additionally, the official residences for the Chief of Naval Operations (1982) and Chief of Air Force Staff (1982) are located in Daebang-dong, Seoul.

Former Marine Corps Commandant Lee Young-joo was investigated by military authorities over allegations of inappropriate use of the Hannam-dong official residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, during his tenure. In 2017, the Ministry of National Defense decided to abolish the Seoul official residences of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Chiefs of Staff, the Deputy Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and the Marine Corps Commandant, but the plan was not implemented due to strong opposition from each service branch. At that time, the Ministry considered constructing a new 'integrated residence' building next to the Minister of National Defense's official residence in Hannam-dong instead of maintaining the Seoul residences of the three service chiefs, the Deputy Commander of the Combined Forces Command, and the Marine Corps Commandant. The official residence in Cheongun-dong, Jongno-gu, owned by the Security Support Command (formerly the Defense Security Command), was sold in January 2020 for 5.59 billion KRW. This residence was originally a privately owned building constructed in 1967, which underwent remodeling in 2014 at a cost of 750 million KRW.

The Army, Navy, and Air Force maintain that there is no issue since the chiefs of each service have official residences at Gyeryongdae in Chungnam Province. It is known that the chiefs use the Seoul official residences about 10 days per month on average. Regarding the size of the three service chiefs' official residences at Gyeryongdae, the Army residence has a building area (total floor area) of 1,067㎡ and a land area of 32,000㎡; the Navy residence has a building area (total floor area) of 720㎡ and a land area of 10,947㎡; and the Air Force residence has a building area (total floor area) of 671㎡ and a land area of 1,947㎡.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.