South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, 17 June 2026. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
Aug. 10 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Defense Ministry held its first regular briefing Monday after returning to its former headquarters in Seoul’s Yongsan district, ending more than four years of displacement triggered by the relocation of the presidential office under former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Defense Ministry spokeswoman Jeong Bit-na described the ministry’s previous move as “unreasonable and abnormal” and said its return felt like finally coming home.
“We moved under unreasonable and abnormal circumstances, and reporters also had to endure a cramped briefing room for years,” Jeong said.
“It feels as though the Defense Ministry has finally returned to its own home,” she said. “Going forward, the ministry will work even harder to focus on national defense policy as the military of the people.”
The Defense Ministry had occupied the building since 2003.
After Yoon moved the presidential office from the Blue House to Yongsan in May 2022, however, the ministry vacated the building and relocated across the street to the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Defense Ministry and Joint Chiefs subsequently shared the same building for more than four years.
President Lee Jae Myung’s administration moved the presidential office back to the Blue House in December, fulfilling a campaign pledge and clearing the way for the Defense Ministry to return to its former headquarters.
The ministry is moving its departments into the building in stages.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260810010003002
