South Korean President Lee returns to presidential palace avoided by predecessor

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday commuted to Cheong Wa Dae, the country’s traditional presidential palace, for the first time since taking office in June, more than three years after his ousted predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol moved the presidential office to the Defense Ministry compound.

It was the first time a president had commuted to Cheong Wa Dae since May 9, 2022, the final day of former President Moon Jae-in’s term, before Yoon began his presidency working out of a converted Defense Ministry building.

Lee, who won a snap presidential election in June following Yoon’s removal over a brief declaration of martial law in December 2024, spent weeks relocating the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House, as he seeks to erase the legacy of his now-jailed predecessor.

Cheong Wa Dae is nestled on the lower slopes of a mountain in northern Seoul, occupying about 250,000 square meters (62 acres) behind the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace. The site, which has undergone several renovations over the decades, has served primarily as the country’s presidential office since the government’s founding following independence from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II.

Arguing that the hillside Cheong Wa Dae was too isolated from the public, Yoon reportedly spent about $40 million relocating the presidential office to several buildings at the Defense Ministry compound in Yongsan in central Seoul, dismissing concerns over security and costs and claiming the move would make his presidency more democratic. Following the relocation, he opened parts of Cheong Wa Dae to the public as a tourist site, which drew millions of visitors.

Yoon, a staunch conservative, later triggered the country’s deepest democratic crisis in decades when he declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, during a standoff with Lee’s liberal Democratic Party, which controlled the legislature and obstructed much of his policy agenda.

Martial law lasted only hours, after a quorum of lawmakers broke through a military blockade and voted to lift the measure. Yoon was impeached later that month, removed from office in April by a Constitutional Court ruling and re-arrested in July. He now faces serious criminal charges, including rebellion, which carries a possible life sentence or the death penalty.

Ahead of Lee’s commute, officials raised a presidential flag featuring two phoenixes at Cheong Wa Dae at midnight, marking the palace’s return as the official presidential office. Guards saluted as Lee’s motorcade passed the compound gates, as dozens of supporters nearby waved the South Korean flag and chanted his name. Lee’s office later released a video of him holding a tea meeting with senior aides in one of Cheong Wa Dae’s rooms.

Lee’s office said he will commute from the current presidential residence in another part of Seoul until it is moved back to Cheong Wa Dae at an unspecified date.