HAEAHN Architecture Wins Bid for New Sejong Presidential Office Design

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Authorities on Wednesday declared the winner of a public bid for the design of a new presidential office to be built in the central administrative city of Sejong.

A consortium led by HAEAHN Architecture Inc. secured the bid with a design proposal that will adopt chae and madang, or the rooms and open yards of traditional Korean houses, to give traditional Korean scenery, according to the National Administrative City Construction Agency (NACCA).

The design earned praise for aligning its spatial layout with the surrounding natural terrain while maintaining close proximity between the president and his aides.

Evaluators, however, noted that the balance between symbolic architecture and traditional elements should be refined, according to the agency.

To this end, the consortium will undergo a year of follow-up design adjustments, incorporating expert feedback to better capture Korean aesthetics and modern democratic values, including communication with the public, it added.

The president has vowed to mark his departure from office in Sejong, urging the government to complete the project before his five-year term ends in 2030.

The agency said it seeks to complete construction of the new Sejong office by August 2029. The new office, however, does not mean the complete relocation of the presidential office to Sejong, which many believe requires a constitutional amendment.

"We will actively communicate with the public and experts to ensure the Sejong presidential office becomes a landmark that fits our national stature and instills pride in our people," NACCA chief Kang Joo-yeop said.