Presidential office to revert to Blue House name starting Monday

Korea’s presidential office will once again be known as the Blue House starting Monday, after President Lee Jae Myung completes the move back to the compound.

The phoenix flag is raised at the presidential office building in Yongsan District, central Seoul on June 4. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Korea’s presidential office will once again be known as the Blue House starting Monday, after President Lee Jae Myung completes the move back to the compound.

"The presidential emblem flag known as the phoenix flag will come down at midnight on Dec. 29 at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, and will go up at the Blue House at the same time," the presidential office said in a media notice on Wednesday. "The official name will also change from the presidential office to the Blue House starting that day."

The change follows the near completion of the relocation of the presidential workplace back to the Blue House. The presidential office has already moved most of its key units to the compound, except for the protocol secretary’s office and the first annex office, which stay near President Lee to support him directly.

The presidential office has also held its regular briefings at Chunchugwan, the press center at the Blue House, since Monday. President Lee plans to begin official work at the Blue House by the end of this month.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol moved the presidential office to the former Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on May 10, 2022, and opened the Blue House to the public.

“The Blue House will no longer serve as a symbol of state power,” Yoon said at the time. "It will become a major public rest space in Seoul."

With the change under Lee, the official title, "presidential office," which the government used for about three years and seven months after the move to Yongsan, will no longer remain in use.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY BAE JAE-SUNG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]