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| ▲ This photo, shows the sight of new apartments being constructed between the Jangneung Royal Tomb, Gimpo. (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) -- As the construction for apartments nearby Jangneung Royal Tomb, Gimpo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been completed, the Cultural Heritage Administration applied for administrative adjustment to suspend the occupancy of these apartments.
According to Incheon city on the 9th, the Cultural Heritage Administration recently applied for administrative adjustment to the Administration Council Regulation Committee, under the Prime Minister's Secretariat.
The Administration Council Regulation Committee is affiliated with the Prime Minister's Secretariat who consults and mediates when there are different opinions between the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and local governments.
It is told that the Cultural Heritage Administration applied for adjustments to Seo-gu, to withhold the completion process of the apartments being built in the Geomdan new city, Seo-gu, Incheon, near Jangneung Royal Tomb, Gimpo.
Daekwang E&C (Daekwang Construciton), JS Global (Kumsung Baekjoe Construction Corp), Daebang Construction Co., Ltd (constructed by same company) who built apartments near Jangneung in Gimpo are planning to apply for inspection to Seo-gu.
While it was planned to apply for inspection between June and September of this year when the companies received approval for the construction of the apartment, some companies have advanced the application for the inspection.
Daekwang ENC informed their tenants that they would be able to move in from the 31st of May till the 14th of September this year.
The Cultural Heritage Administration previously sent a letter to Seo-gu stating that the inspection process should be temporarily suspended because the lawsuits related to the apartments of these construction companies were in progress. However, they only received a reply that they would review it.
"Once people start moving in, matters like ownership and other legal relations will become very complicated," said an official from the Cultural Heritage Administration. "We have applied for the administrative mediation as the same purpose of sending Seo-gu the letter."
The committee has received the application for the administrative consultation and mediation from the Cultural Heritage Administration and has sent an official letter to Seo-gu, Incheon, asking for relevant opinions.
"As the meditations has been received and was asked to give opinions about it, we are inspecting it," said an official from Seo-gu. "We haven't conveyed our opinions yet."
An official from the Administration Council Regulation Committee conveyed, "We plan to decide on the matter after presenting and discussing about it with the committee."
The Cultural Heritage Administration has previously ordered 19 out of 44 apartments, which provides about 3,400 homes, in Geomdan new town to stop their construction. However, the court accepted the construction companies' side to continue its construction and so was resumed. Currently, related lawsuits are on its way.
The Cultural Heritage Administration claimed that these construction companies violated the Cultural Heritage Protection Act as they did not receive prior deliberation although they were building apartments with a height of at least 20m in the historical and cultural environment preservation area within 500-meter radius of the Jangneung Royal Tomb in 2019.
In September last year, the Cultural Heritage Administration filed a complaint against the three construction companies for violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, and police investigations are currently on progress.
Jangneung is the royal tomb of King Wonjong, the father of the 16th king of Joseon, King Injo (1623 - 1649), and his wife, Queen Inheon.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)
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