Ministry of National Defense Building Begins Full-Scale Moving Preparations Starting Today

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol has decided to install his office in the current Ministry of National Defense (MND) main building located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, after his inauguration, prompting the MND to start vacating the main building offices sequentially from this month.

Following the approval of the supplementary budget expenditure plan for relocating the presidential office at the extraordinary Cabinet meeting held on the 6th, the MND plans to formally contract with a professional moving company as early as the 7th and begin relocating offices currently housed in the main building to nearby Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) buildings and other on- and off-base facilities by division and bureau.

The supplementary budget amounts to 36,045,595,000 KRW. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will allocate 17,624,178,000 KRW, the Presidential Security Service 6,586,185,000 KRW, and the Ministry of National Defense 11,835,232,000 KRW.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s allocation includes the relocation of the Blue House Secretariat (15,082,230,000 KRW) and remodeling costs for official residences (2,541,955,000 KRW). The Presidential Security Service’s budget will be used for security facilities such as the Crisis Management Center and Security Situation Room (6,586,185,000 KRW). The MND’s budget will cover office relocation expenses (11,835,232,000 KRW).

Additionally, non-command departments currently occupying the 5th to 9th floors of the MND main building are scheduled to be used by the Presidential Secretariat and are included in the supplementary budget. However, relocation costs for the 1st to 3rd floors, which will be used by command departments, will be included in a second supplementary budget. Accordingly, departments occupying the 5th floor and above of the 10-story above ground and 3-story underground MND main building, where the new government’s presidential office will be located, will vacate their offices first.

The MND estimates that relocating offices, excluding command departments, will take at least four weeks. The Office of Military Resources Management and the Defense Reform Office will move to the annex building (former main building) within the Yongsan MND compound. The Mobilization Planning Office and the Health and Welfare Office will relocate to the MND Support Group building. Other departments will be dispersed to the Army Hall and the Defense Convention Center. Additionally, the Defense Facilities Headquarters, part of the Support Group, and other MND direct units will move to the former Defense Acquisition Program Administration building located in Huam-dong, which has been incorporated into Yongsan Park. The Defense Technology Support Center, currently using the former DAPA building, will relocate to a site owned by the Korea Meteorological Administration.

Meanwhile, command departments such as the Minister and Vice Minister’s offices, Planning and Coordination Office, and Defense Policy Office, as well as operations and readiness departments occupying the 2nd to 4th floors of the main building, plan to move to the nearby JCS building after the first half of this year’s Combined Command Post Training (CCPT) between South Korea and the United States concludes.

The JCS relocation is planned to move to a new building to be constructed within the Capital Defense Command located in Namtaeryeong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, and is expected to be discussed after the new government takes office.

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