On the 14th, Yongsan District announced that it had removed all 2,810 support wreaths for President Yoon installed near the presidential office and residence after the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was passed by the National Assembly in December last year.
Supporters of President Yoon installed support wreaths along the pedestrian and roadside areas from Samgakji Station on Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 6 to Noksapyeong Station, as well as in the Hangang neighborhood, where the presidential residence is located, after the impeachment motion was passed in the National Assembly on Dec. 14 last year.
It took two months to remove the wreaths. A Yongsan District official noted, "Without specific regulations, it was unclear whether to view it as a simple roadside obstruction or as an advertisement containing a political expression," adding, "The method of handling wreaths and the legal advice regarding the wreaths varied among different districts, which caused significant delays in the review process."
At the end of December last year, Yongsan District decided to treat the wreaths as "floating advertisements comparable to signboards." The volunteers managing the wreaths voluntarily undertook the cleanup, and the wreath companies collected them free of charge. The process began on the 17th of last month with the removal of over 100 wreaths near Noksapyeong Station, and continued until the 13th of the previous day with a phased cleanup of wreaths installed along Itaewon-ro, in Hannam-dong, Ichon Station, Samgakji Station, and Noksapyeong Station. Yongsan District first collected wreaths that posed a threat to pedestrian safety due to severe damage.
Yongsan District is reviewing how it will handle similar cases in the future. Discussions include imposing fines after immediately collecting the wreaths and issuing cleanup orders to the installers, with fines imposed if they do not comply. Park Hee-young, the head of Yongsan District, said, "We will devise related measures to minimize the inconvenience to the district residents caused by the wreaths."