Dongdaemun-gu Deploys 7 Special Investigators, First Among Local Governments, to Crack Down on Illegal Street Vendors

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At the Dongdaemun-gu "Special Judicial Police Launch Ceremony for Street Environment Maintenance" held on the 4th, seven district employees appointed as special judicial police officers and Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Ilhyeong Lee (fourth from the right) are taking a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Ilhyung Lee) has become the first local government to deploy a large-scale special judicial police force for street vendor crackdowns.

On the 4th, the district held a ‘Special Judicial Police Launch Ceremony for Street Environment Maintenance’ at the Dongdaemun-gu Office.

For decades, Dongdaemun-gu employees have faced significant restrictions in cracking down on street vendors. Even when inspecting about 260 street stalls around Wangsan-ro, Gosan-ja-ro, and Hongneung-ro near Cheongnyangni, they had no authority to obtain personal information of the vendors. As a result, they could not carry out follow-up tasks stipulated by the Road Act.

To overcome these limitations, the district requested the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office to appoint seven district employees (from the Construction Management Division) as special judicial police officers under relevant laws, and the request was accepted.

Accordingly, the district plans to deploy the special judicial police on-site to investigate violations of the Road Act related to street stalls around Cheongnyangni Station to Jegi-dong Station, while simultaneously conducting the ‘2022 Street Vendor Status Survey’ to fundamentally block the creation of new street stalls in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Ilhyung Lee, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, “I hope the employees appointed as special judicial police officers will actively perform their duties on-site under the slogan of the 8th elected administration: ‘Cleanly! Safely! Transparently!’ I ask them to carry out their work with a sense of mission to bring forward a new future for Dongdaemun,” adding, “Please ensure procedural fairness by enforcing laws and principles fairly and transparently, while also striving to protect the human rights of street vendors.”

Dongdaemun-gu continues various efforts to create a clean and safe environment. On September 20, a street vendor maintenance advisory group was appointed, and on September 28, an illegal outdoor advertisement for Bapper, which was installed on the wall of the Dapsimni Underpass and threatened the safety of railway operations and passing vehicles, was removed.

Additionally, on the 4th, a correction order was issued for an unauthorized building illegally expanded by the Dail Welfare Foundation, which operates Bapper. Residents of Dongdaemun expressed their views on these changes, saying, “Seeing the area near Cheongnyangni becoming cleaner and safer, the future of Dongdaemun-gu looks bright,” and “We hope that the illegal practices that have been widespread in the area will continue to be corrected.”

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