Joint Chiefs of Staff New Headquarters Building to Be Constructed by 2026

Defense Minister nominee Lee Jong-seop is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 4th and delivering an opening statement. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Joint Chiefs of Staff building in Yongsan, Seoul, will be newly constructed by 2026. Namtaryeong, equipped with a 'wartime command post,' is being strongly considered as the site for the new building.

On the 17th, the Ministry of National Defense announced in a briefing document for the National Assembly's National Defense Committee plenary session that, as a mid- to long-term plan for the "integration and relocation of the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff," it will "promote the construction and relocation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff building to unify wartime and peacetime operations."

Although Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop mentioned during his confirmation hearing written answers as a candidate that he would consider new construction and relocation, this is the first time it has been officially declared as a plan to be pursued.

The Ministry of National Defense plans to start preliminary research and feasibility study consultations this year for the new Joint Chiefs of Staff building and aims to complete construction by 2026. Once the Joint Chiefs of Staff building is newly constructed, the Ministry of National Defense, currently dispersed across 6 to 7 locations due to the relocation of the Presidential Office, will be consolidated into the Yongsan Joint Chiefs of Staff building. In addition to this mid- to long-term plan, short-term relocation work will also be carried out. The short-term relocation is expected to cost about 16.7 billion KRW, including facility construction costs (9.03 billion KRW), moving service fees (870 million KRW), and information and communication construction costs (6.79 billion KRW).

Regarding the redeployment of Patriot missile batteries for defense against North Korea's ballistic missiles, it was emphasized that "Patriot batteries provide overlapping defense for the entire Seoul metropolitan area, so there will be no additional deployment or relocation due to the Presidential Office move."

Also, the reestablishment of the flight restriction zone (P73), previously centered around the Blue House, will be "evaluated based on future air defense operation conditions, safe operation of civilian air routes, and the impact on public inconvenience, and the optimal permanent airspace will be established accordingly." Since the readjustment of the existing P73 zone has not been concluded, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport currently designates and operates temporary flight restriction zones around the Yongsan Presidential Office and President Yoon Seok-yeol's residence in Seocho-dong Acrovista.

Regarding the plan to exchange some official residences between the Security Office and military apartments, the Ministry of National Defense stated, "At the request of the Security Office for residences, we are discussing property exchanges between the military's Seobinggo residences and those under the Security Office's jurisdiction," adding, "Residences exchanged with the Security Office will be assigned considering the distance to the workplace to ensure no disruption to mission performance and readiness."

However, there are ongoing criticisms that some of the Security Office residences proposed for exchange are located up to 15 km away from the Ministry of National Defense, which contradicts the purpose of military residence management to maintain readiness in emergencies.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop attended the National Defense Committee meeting at the National Assembly for the first time since his inauguration and said, "The relocation of the Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff buildings has been successfully completed, and access, security, and information communication networks are operating normally," adding, "We will carefully monitor to ensure there are no work disruptions or difficulties due to dispersed work arrangements that some are concerned about."

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