The Seoul Hangang Ultramarathon organizing committee said it decided to postpone the 4th Seoul Hangang Ultramarathon two days before it was to be held. The committee claimed it was due to "administrative tyranny," but the Seoul city government countered that the committee was at fault for not following procedures.
According to the Seoul city government and others on the 15th, the committee announced the postponement the previous night. It came right after the Dongdaemun District Office canceled approval to use the marathon starting point. The committee said, "We tried to hold the event as scheduled, but we decided to temporarily postpone it, judging that pushing ahead amid noncooperation and physical obstruction by administrative agencies would likely cause major confusion."
Marking its fourth year, the Seoul Hangang Ultramarathon was scheduled for May 16, starting from Jang-an 1 Riverside Park in Dongdaemun District and running through the area around Ttukseom Hangang Park in Gwangjin District. Two events—100 kilometers and 50 kilometers—were planned, and about 1,500 people applied to participate.
The problem arose because the organizers obtained approval from the Dongdaemun District Office only for use of the starting point and did not complete the formal procedures required to use Hangang Park, which was included in the race course.
To hold a marathon in Hangang Park with 500 or more participants, applicants must prepare documents in September of the previous year for first-half events, apply to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Future Hangang Headquarters for venue use, and obtain approval. The organizers did not follow this process for last year's event either.
The Future Hangang Headquarters of the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a press note the previous day, saying, "We can no longer overlook willful and repeated unauthorized events," and, "As soon as we confirmed this year's event notice, we continuously informed the organizers of the necessity of prior approval procedures, but the organizers are completely ignoring this and pushing ahead with the event."
On May 16, the day the Seoul Hangang Ultramarathon was to be held, a "drone light show" is also taking place at Ttukseom Hangang Park. The Seoul city government estimated that 30,000 people would gather to watch the drone light show and has expressed concern that overlapping with the marathon could pose safety risks.
Although the Seoul Hangang Ultramarathon has been temporarily postponed, legal battles are expected to continue. The Future Hangang Headquarters said the previous day it plans to file a criminal complaint against the organizers for violations including the River Act.
The committee also said it is pursuing legal procedures against what it called unfair administrative actions. "We are responding with every legal means, including abuse of authority and defamation, against the institutions responsible for this situation," the committee said. "We will overcome this trial and stand before you again with a stronger and fairer event."