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South China Morning Post

South Korea's Lee faces security challenges in ambitious plan to relocate presidential office

As South Korean President Lee Jae-myung pushes ahead with his ambitious plan to relocate the presidential office back to the historic Cheong Wa Dae complex, questions are mounting over the feasibility of completing the move within his stated 100-day timeline, particularly amid burgeoning security concerns. Advertisement Experts are sounding the alarm, emphasising the critical need for meticulous preparations. They cite a new generation of security threats, from increasingly sophisticated drones to the evolving risks posed by artificial intelligence, which necessitate comprehensive defensive strategies that might challenge a rapid transition. The concern is that a hasty move could compromise national security and the safety of the president, potentially creating vulnerabilities in a volatile geopolitical landscape. Full-scale discussions on relocating the presidential office are under way, as the new administration launched a dedicated task force on the first day of Lee's term. Efforts to return the office to Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House, are rapidly gaining momentum. The task force is led by Lee Jung-do, former presidential secretary for general affairs under the Moon Jae-in administration. Cheong Wa Dae has been open to the public since May 2022, when former president Yoon Suk-yeol moved the presidential office to Yongsan. Since then, the former presidential compound has become a popular tourist destination for both domestic and international visitors. Currently, most of the complex – including the main building, the state guest house and the helicopter landing pad – remains fully accessible to the public. While the decision to return the presidential office to Cheong Wa Dae is now confirmed, officials are increasingly concerned that completing the relocation within the originally planned 100-day timeline may prove challenging due to complex security issues. Advertisement Lim Jong-in, a professor of information protection at Korea University, emphasised the need for the government to prepare for a wide range of advanced threats, particularly those involving emerging technologies such as drones and cyberattacks.