[E-Daily Reporter Son Eui-Yeon ] A plan to preserve archaeological remains within the Seun District 4 redevelopment site in front of Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul is set to return to the National Heritage Committee’s deliberation table after about a month.

According to a compilation of E-Daily’s reporting on the 15th, the Buried Heritage Subcommittee of the National Heritage Committee will re-examine the agenda item titled “Preservation Plan for Archaeological Sites (A, B, C) within the Seoul Seun District 4 Urban Environment Improvement Project Site” tomorrow (the 16th) at 1:00 p.m. at the Daejeon Government Complex. An official from the National Heritage Administration explained, “The Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) has requested a re-examination after filing an objection and supplementing the details.”

The subject of the review is the Joseon-era village gate (ri-mun) and related archaeological remains identified during the excavation, as well as the drainage ditch on the northern side of the site. Previously, on the 19th of last month, the Buried Heritage Subcommittee of the National Heritage Committee reviewed the agenda and issued a “deferred” decision. At that time, SH reportedly proposed a plan to relocate and preserve key buried heritage sites and to exhibit the excavation findings.

In response to the decision to defer, SH, the project developer, filed an objection on the 9th. It is reported that SH requested a “conditional approval” as an alternative, under which the appropriateness of the preservation plan would be reviewed as the project proceeds.

The conflict between the National Heritage Administration and the Seoul Metropolitan Government over the Seun 4 District redevelopment project in front of Jongmyo Shrine continues. Last June, the conflict intensified when former Jongno District Mayor Jeong Mun-heon, shortly before stepping down, published a notice in the district gazette approving changes to the Seun District 4 project implementation plan. The height limits for buildings along Jongno Street were raised from 54.3 meters to 98.7 meters, and those along Cheonggyecheon Stream were raised from 71.8 meters to 141.9 meters.

In response, the National Heritage Administration requested that the Seoul Metropolitan Government revoke the approval for the revised project implementation plan, but the city replied that it would be difficult to comply.

Although both sides had agreed in 2018 to set the maximum height of buildings in the Seun District 4 at 71.9 meters along the Cheonggyecheon Stream, the Seoul Metropolitan Government raised the maximum height to 145 meters last year. The National Heritage Administration is demanding that a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) be conducted, arguing that the potential impact on the Jongmyo Shrine must be verified.

Preservation measures for buried cultural heritage must be approved by the National Heritage Committee before the project can proceed to the stage of reporting the completion of the excavation survey; the process then continues through the start of construction and culminates in the submission of the results of the preservation measures.