ⓒYONHAP News

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a motion to spend 36 billion won in reserve funds for President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's initiative to relocate the presidential office to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan.

The earmarked funds include eleven-point-six billion won for building security facilities such as the crisis management center and eleven-point-eight billion won for moving the defense ministry.

The amount is 13-point-six billion won less than what the transition team had requested.

The government said the difference is due to the upcoming military exercise between Seoul and Washington. The defense ministry's command units and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will remain in place until the conclusion of the exercise on April 28.

The remodeling of the defense ministry headquarters is expected to begin afterwards, which means the president-elect will likely occupy the new executive office around late June.

Yoon's transition team also said on Wednesday that it is looking highly improbable that the renovated presidential office can be ready for move-in prior to Yoon's inauguration on May 10.

The government said it will discuss additional spending requirements following the military exercise and the construction of security-related facilities.

The defense ministry began moving out on Friday, ahead of the relocation of the presidential office to the ministry headquarters.

A ministry official said offices on the fifth floor and above began clearing out, with ministry employees and workers at movers receiving training in advance to prevent safety and security accidents.

The ministry's command units and the office of the defense minister, located between the first and fourth floors, will remain until the end of the annual joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington, slated for April 28.

The ministry's departure comes after nearly 19 years at its current headquarters, the construction of which was completed in October 2003.

Meanwhile, President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's spokesperson reaffirmed Yoon's resolve to start his presidential term at the new office on the day of his inauguration on May 10, albeit in a temporarily limited capacity due to security restrictions.