President’s second office eyed in Sejong

The construction of a second office for the President, one of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s election pledges, will be pursued in earnest. However, the office will be only completed in 2027, close to the end of Yoon’s term in office.

The government affairs and public safety ministry, the land, infrastructure and transport ministry, and the national agency for administrative city construction made the announcement on Sunday, saying that they will launch a taskforce for construction of the President’s second office in September to start a study on the project. The new office will be completed in 2027, which is close to the end of Yoon’s term in office. The government plans to set an urban construction plan that will link the new office with the planned construction of a second National Assembly building in Sejong and the Government Complex Sejong during the construction period.

The government will come up with a specific plan on the function, size and location of the new office within this year after gathering opinions from related government agencies, experts and the private sector. It will assess the scale of the project to be able to set a basic construction plan and make an architectural design within the first half of next year. To set aside the necessary budget, the government and the ruling party agreed to increase the design cost for the second office during this year’s parliamentary budget review process of the National Assembly.

The establishment of the President’s second office was one of Yoon’s election pledges. As President-elect, Yoon expressed commitment to the project by allotting issues around his office to the taskforce for relocation of the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. As progress was delayed due to controversy over concern about the president’s safety and budget, the local community including the Sejong city council protested, calling it ‘cancellation of the election pledge.’

However, ruling People’s Power Party’s Floor Leader Kwon Sung-dong and the party’s leaders vowed speedy construction of a second National Assembly building and the President’s second office in Sejong while visiting the site for the National Assembly branch on August 3. “I promised that the government will construct the National Assembly building in Sejong before 2027 to ensure that it will become a world-class, landmark hall of democracy," Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong said.


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