Incheon Camp Market Japanese Military Hospital Building to Be Demolished... Controversy Continues Due to Lack of Citizen Agreement

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The hospital building of the Japanese military weapon manufacturing factory (Jobyungchang) during the Japanese colonial period is expected to be demolished despite opposition from civic groups.

Incheon City announced on the 19th that it plans to request the Ministry of National Defense to resume soil contamination cleanup work in Zone B of Camp Market, which was temporarily suspended last year.

The city explained in a statement released that day, "We prioritized citizen safety and considered legal responsibilities, the Cultural Heritage Administration's judgment, social costs, and public opinion."

Earlier, in November last year, the Ministry of National Defense began demolishing the 1,324㎡ Jobyungchang hospital building in Camp Market Zone B, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, but suspended the work temporarily after strong opposition from civic groups and a request from Incheon City to halt the demolition.

Since last month, the city has held three communication meetings regarding the Jobyungchang hospital building but failed to reach a consensus within the local community.

The "Japanese Army Jobyungchang Historical Cultural Ecological Park Promotion Council," which opposes the demolition of the Jobyungchang hospital building, insists that the building needs to be preserved considering its historical value and that complete soil purification is technically possible while preserving it.

On the other hand, the "Camp Market Bupyeong Forest Residents Promotion Committee," composed of citizens from the area around Camp Market, argued that the original form of the hospital building has been damaged, reducing its preservation value, and that many residents want the demolition. They opposed spending costs and time to preserve the building.

Jobjungchang Hospital building inside Bupyeong US military base [Photo provided by Incheon City]

As the city issued its final opinion without narrowing the differences, civic groups demanding the preservation of the building immediately protested.

The Historical Park Promotion Council held a press conference at Incheon City Hall that day and said, "During the third communication meeting, we agreed on specific public opinion survey methods such as a full survey and voting for collecting opinions, but the city did not acknowledge this," and urged the formation of a public-private consultative body to decide on the preservation of the Jobyungchang hospital building by gathering citizen opinions.

In response, the Bupyeong Forest Promotion Committee, advocating demolition, rebutted, "These are just individual opinions expressed during the meetings and not agreed upon by both sides," and stated, "We respect Incheon City's policy."

Previously, the building became embroiled in controversy over preservation after petroleum-based total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) concentrations exceeding the contamination concern standard (500 mg/kg) were detected in the underlying soil.

In the tripartite discussions with the Ministry of National Defense and the Cultural Heritage Administration, the city judged that it would not be possible to complete soil purification by 2023, the legally mandated deadline, while preserving the original form of the building.

Ultimately, the agencies reached an agreement to demolish the building but preserve major sub-materials and conduct documentation work to maximize the value of the hospital building.

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