Street Vendor Cleanup Around Jegi Station to Cheongnyangni Station, Dongdaemun-gu

Approximately 300 Street Vendors Between Jegi Station and Cheongnyangni Station to Be Regulated by Next Year... Securing Pedestrian Rights and Gradual Phasing Out of Street Stalls Through Permit System

The appearance of street vendors around Jegi Station to Cheongnyangni Station after maintenance

Appearance Before Maintenance

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor You Deok-yeol) is accelerating the street vendor permit system project to simultaneously secure citizens' right of way and street vendors' right to livelihood.

Dongdaemun-gu has more than 10 traditional markets, including Gyeongdong Market, making it the third district in Seoul with the most street vendors after Jongno-gu and Jung-gu.

In particular, the section from Jegi Station to Cheongnyangni Station is densely packed with about 400 street vendors who have been operating for decades, resulting in continuous complaints.

Accordingly, since the partial revision of the Road Act in 2014 provided the basis for promoting street vendors, the district has been actively promoting the project in accordance with the "Seoul Street Vendor Guidelines" prepared through over three years of negotiations between Seoul City and street vendor organizations.

The street vendor permit system officially grants road occupancy permits to street vendors that meet certain conditions without infringing on residents' right of way and urban aesthetics. Operators fulfill obligations such as paying occupancy and rental fees, enabling stable business operations.

The project aims to standardize street vendors, which have indiscriminately proliferated and harmed urban aesthetics, to a width of 1.7m and a length of 3m to maximize pedestrian rights of way, limit the operation period to a maximum of 10 years, and gradually reduce the number of street vendors.

Dongdaemun-gu, in step with Seoul City, signed an agreement with street vendor organizations in June 2019 to implement the street vendor permit system, resulting in 142 street vendors being transformed into permitted street vendors.

Additionally, in December last year, Dongdaemun-gu renovated 20 street vendor spots in the 1st and 2nd arch sections of Cheongnyangni Fruit and Vegetable Market into permitted street vendors.

Before the project, there was strong opposition from surrounding building merchants and street vendor operators, but after completion, the cleaner pedestrian environment satisfied nearby merchants, and street vendor operators were able to operate stably, achieving noticeable results.

Meanwhile, about 300 street vendors in the Jegi Station to Cheongnyangni Station area remain subject to maintenance due to some street vendor organizations' uncooperative attitudes, but the district plans to continuously persuade them of the project's necessity and organize them into permitted street vendors.

A Dongdaemun-gu official stated, "We will take strong measures such as reporting and forced execution against street vendors uncooperative with the promotion of the street vendor permit system," adding, "We are fully committed to completing the maintenance of the street vendor permit system project in the Jegi Station to Cheongnyangni Station area by next year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.