This is the former site of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration inside Yongsan Park in Seoul.

Located in the northern part of the park, this area was cited by the government last month in August as one of the candidate sites for new housing supply, including rental housing for young people.

[Kim Yun-duk / Then Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Last month in August, plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee): "There is the former DAPA site, and there are some areas that have already completely lost their function as green space."]

However, it has been confirmed that the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Institute—known as "Sinsokwon"—an affiliated agency of the Agency for Defense Development currently based in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, is pushing forward with plans to relocate into a building on this former DAPA site.

That somewhat worn-down building seen behind me is where the Defense Media Agency previously maintained its offices.

The institute plans to establish its new office inside that building.

According to internal documents obtained by SBS, the institute earmarked a budget of 1.88 billion won for remodeling the building and establishing infrastructure to facilitate the office relocation.

It was also revealed that the institute devised a plan to finance 1.22 billion won of that amount using the Agency for Defense Development's research and development reserve funds.

While the government is pursuing a "second round of public institution relocations" and reviewing Yongsan Park as a candidate site for housing supply, the institute appears to be moving into Yongsan Park, going directly against the policy of relocating out of the capital region.

Criticism has emerged accusing the institute of "digging in" to keep its foothold in Seoul.

[Boo Seung-chan / Member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (Democratic Party of Korea): "There couldn't be a worse mismatch, and this is unacceptable. Especially in a situation with a cliff in housing supply, matters like this must be considered with great care, and agencies should actively align with government policy."]

The institute stated to SBS, "There is no issue because we have been holding discussions regarding the relocation in consultation with relevant organizations, including the Defense Acquisition Program Administration."

Nevertheless, critics emphasize that a government-level review is urgently needed to determine whether this move aligns not only with the principle of relocating public institutions to provincial regions, but also with broader plans for utilizing the Yongsan Park site.

(Reported by Kim Kwan-jin | Written by Lee Seyoung | Camera by Lee Byung-joo, Oh Young-choon, Lee Seung-hwan, and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Lee So-young | Graphics by Kim Yeji and Hwang Se-yeon | Produced by SBS Digital News)