Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said a revision to the World Heritage Act enforcement decree pushed by the Korea Heritage Service could restrict development in the northern districts, saying it "violates the principle of prohibition of excess."
The principle of prohibition of excess is the principle that when the state exercises public authority that restricts or infringes on citizens' basic rights, a balance must be maintained between the public interest to be achieved and the private interest that is infringed.
On the 24th, Oh said this through a 25-minute video titled "One-shot mayor Oh Se-hoon, part 2 — again, the heyday of the northern districts, Sewoon District and downtown reinvention," released on his YouTube channel Oh Se-hoon TV.
One-shot mayor Oh Se-hoon is a video in which Oh gives a lecture in front of a chalkboard, and this video was released for the second time, following on the 3rd.
Oh said, "If it is true that the Korea Heritage Service claims its employees can exert influence at their discretion as much as they want, that is a clear violation of the Constitution."
Oh said, "Even if discretion is exercised, there must be standards, and saying they can expand the scope based on their own judgment can be a problem, and the Seoul city government will clearly take issue with it."
This follows the Korea Heritage Service saying on the 10th that it would give advance notice this month of legislation to revise the enforcement decree of the Special Act on the Conservation, Management and Utilization of World Heritage (World Heritage Act).
The revision centers on widening the cultural heritage zone from the current 100 meters to 500 meters and requiring heritage impact assessments for large-scale construction or environmentally polluting acts to obtain approval from the Korea Heritage Service.
Oh said, "If they say to undergo an impact assessment when developing near World Heritage sites, the number of redevelopment projects that fall within the area of influence comes to as many as 38 just in Seongbuk, Jongno, Jung and Nowon districts."
He added, "If this happens, development of many redevelopment project zones in the northern districts will be restricted, and the painstaking efforts the Seoul city government has pursued, including the expedited integrated planning, will be nullified."
Oh introduced, "In urban planning, there is something called an 'acupuncture effect,' which selects areas where policy effects can spread and invests intensively to bring about overall change."
He then introduced the five key axes of Seoul's urban development and said, "The north-south green axis, which includes the Sewoon District, is the most important project to remake the downtown."
The key axes are the central urban maintenance promotion areas introduced by the Seoul city government through the Seoul Urban Master Plan 2040.
They are: ◇ the national symbol axis (Gwanghwamun in Jongno District to near Seoul Station in Jung District) ◇ the history, culture and tourism axis (Insadong in Jongno District to near Myeongdong in Jung District) ◇ the complex culture axis (DDP in Dongdaemun District, Seoul) ◇ the north-south green axis (Jongmyo in Jongno District to Namsan in Jung District) ◇ and the global industry axis.
Oh said, "If you fail to understand the urban planning axes and the vision they outline for the future and simply take it as a conflict with cultural assets in a single area, many misunderstandings are unavoidable."
He added, "The Seoul city government will seek solutions that can harmonize the two values of preserving national heritage and developing the downtown without losing either."