President Park Chung Hee restored the Government-General Building from 1962 for government functions until the early 1980s and housed the National Museum of South Korea from 1986.

On 24 July, the swearing in ceremony of Syngman Rhee as the first president of South Korea was held in front of the Government-General Building.

On 15 August, the inauguration of the First Republic occurred at the Government-General Building following the official transfer of power from the US occupation government.

Following Park Chung Hee's May 16 coup in 1961 that established the Supreme Council of National Reconstruction, the Government-General Building was restored to serve two more decades as the seat of government.

On 22 November 1962, General Park carried out extensive repair and refurbishing work on the derelict Government-General Building to use it as much-needed offices for the central government.

As a witness to the major political and social upheavals of modern Korean history, the building housed government offices including that of the prime minister until the early 1980s when new quarters were constructed nearby.

After the last State Council meeting was held there on 19 May 1983, it underwent a period of refurbishment, reopening in August 1986 as the National Museum of Korea.

The Government-General Building had been subject to calls for demolition since the presidency of Rhee, almost immediately after the end of Japanese colonial rule.

President Kim and proponents of the demolition argued that the building was a symbol of Japanese imperialism that had been built deliberately to deface Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Opponents of the demolition countered that South Korea, now a wealthy nation, was no longer troubled by such symbolism and that reminders of the colonial era were needed.