Seoul's ongoing redevelopment of Sewoon District 4 has faced another setback as the preservation plan proposed by the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) has been postponed. This decision comes amid continuing tensions between the central government and the Seoul city government.
On August 20, the Cultural Heritage Administration reported that the National Heritage Committee's burial division reviewed the preservation plan for the Sewoon District 4 urban environment improvement project at the government complex in Daejeon the previous day and decided to defer the matter. The reason cited was the need to reassess the project plan after changes are finalized.
This issue was previously postponed by the Cultural Heritage Committee in January 2024, which requested a more detailed preservation plan to be submitted later.
SH proposed relocating the discovered Imun (a gate marking the village boundary) to an empty space on the eastern side and moving the remains of the previous structures and drainage systems. The plan also includes expanding the exhibition space for excavation materials to be established on the first basement level.
As a result of this latest decision, the completion of the excavation investigation in Sewoon District 4 is expected to take longer. Construction cannot proceed on the site until the National Heritage Committee's review and the completion of the excavation investigation by the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration.
The conflict between the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Seoul city government has intensified over Sewoon District 4. Last year, the city government significantly increased the maximum height of nearby buildings from 71.9 meters to 145 meters, prompting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Cultural Heritage Administration to demand a World Heritage Impact Assessment to evaluate the potential effects on the Jongmyo Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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