Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said on the 11th that if Sewoon Shopping Center is torn down and green space is created amid controversy over the redevelopment of Sewoon District 4 across from Jongmyo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the biggest beneficiary would be Jongmyo.
Appearing on CBS' "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" that day, Mayor Oh said, "The city's plan takes care of both culture and the economy." The Sewoon District 4 redevelopment project will build office facilities and officetels up to 142 meters high, and was finalized in July after review by the Seoul City Urban Regeneration Committee.
Mayor Oh explained that in Sewoon District 4, the first building begins 170 meters from the Jongmyo boundary, and the Jongno and Cheonggyecheon sides are also about 150 meters away. He added that it is about 300 meters from Jongmyo's main gate to the Main Hall (Jeongjeon), so there would be more than 500 meters from the Main Hall to the high-rise buildings along Cheonggyecheon.
Aiming at Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who recently criticized the Sewoon District 4 redevelopment plan, Mayor Oh said, "They are building 100- or 150-story buildings 500 meters away, and the prime minister uses emotional expressions like 'I can't breathe' and 'I feel overwhelmed,'" adding, "Instead of that, we should talk scientifically. He keeps trying to provoke public sentiment; that is agitation."
Displaying the rundown condition around Sewoon Shopping Center, Mayor Oh said, "The reason this look has been left as is for so long is the height limits," and added, "If you tell them to build low, there is no economic feasibility, so they don't develop."
Mayor Oh argued that the revenue obtained by building high-rises in the Sewoon District 4 redevelopment would be used for expenses such as relocation within the project area and creating surrounding green space, thus saving taxes that would otherwise be spent. He then presented renderings of the green axis stretching from in front of Jongmyo to Namsan and of the buildings to be built through the redevelopment, saying, "This will highlight Jongmyo much more," and added, "The high-rises will be built to the sides, not directly in front of Jongmyo."