Bird's-eye view of the redevelopment plan for Apgujeong District 5./Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

The process of selecting a Sigongsa for the reconstruction of Apgujeong District 5 in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, has halted due to a dispute over unauthorized filming.

According to the maintenance industry on the 15th, the Gangnam-gu Office sent an interim official reply on Apr. 14 to the Apgujeong District 5 association regarding a request for an authoritative interpretation.

In the letter, Gangnam-gu said it is "reviewing matters for which an authoritative interpretation related to the selection of a Sigongsa was requested," and noted, "We ask that you suspend procedures for selecting a Sigongsa, including opening bid documents, until the results of the authoritative interpretation are notified."

Earlier, on the 10th, Apgujeong District 5 held a bid to select a Sigongsa, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction and DL E&C submitted final bids.

However, an unexpected problem arose while reviewing the bid documents. An employee of DL E&C was caught on site taking unauthorized photos of bid-related documents, and the document review was immediately halted.

In response, DL E&C delivered a letter of apology signed by CEO Park Sang-shin to the association. The association is currently demanding that DL E&C submit a written commitment stating it will raise no objections to future administrative procedures related to the bid.

The association submitted an official letter to the Gangnam-gu Office seeking a formal legal judgment on the issue that emerged during the bidding process.

An official at the Gangnam-gu Office said, "We plan to reply as soon as possible."

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.