Claims of shamans and curses as South Korea’s president shuns official residence

The public visit the Blue House in Seoul after the new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, said he would not use it as his official residence. Photograph: Raphael Rashid

For decades, South Korea’s presidents have begun their terms in office by acquainting themselves with the vast premises of the Blue House.

But on Tuesday, Yoon Suk-yeol became the first leader in the country’s modern history to shun the presidential residence, heading instead to a new office inside a former defence ministry building in central Seoul.