Seoul City and Seodaemun-gu Clash Over Yonsei-ro 'Car-Free Street'... Merchants Feel 'Anxious'

From the 1st of next month, designated as a public transportation-only zone

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to make Yeonse-ro in Seodaemun-gu a 'car-free street' again by March next year. Yeonse-ro, a section of about 550 meters from Sinchon Rotary to the three-way intersection in front of Yonsei University’s main gate, had been operated as a car-free street since 2014 but allowed vehicle entry starting this January. However, Seodaemun-gu has strongly opposed this Seoul city policy. Seodaemun-gu argued, "Since allowing vehicle entry on Yeonse-ro, the sales revenue of nearby commercial districts has increased by 23%," and claimed, "Re-designating it as a car-free street would deal a heavy blow to merchants." On the other hand, Seoul city stated, "It has not been confirmed whether vehicle entry is the cause of the sales increase." As Seoul city and Seodaemun-gu clash, merchants on Yeonse-ro are experiencing confusion.

Seoul Sinchon Yonsei-ro. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

On the 15th, Seoul city announced that starting from the 1st of next month, Yeonse-ro will be converted into a public transportation-only zone, and by March next year, they will examine the impacts on traffic, environment, and commercial districts, then gather opinions from experts and citizens to decide on the continuation or abolition of the zone by June next year. Accordingly, from next month, only buses, passenger vans with 16 seats or more, emergency vehicles, and bicycles will be allowed to pass through Yeonse-ro, while taxis will be permitted to operate only from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day.

Lee Seong-heon, mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, "The monthly sales of the Sinchon commercial district dropped from 48.5 billion won before COVID-19 to 38.5 billion won during the pandemic but have now increased to 51 billion won, as shown by data," and added, "If Seoul city forcibly reinstates the public transportation-only zone, Seodaemun-gu, as the managing authority of Yeonse-ro, will reject it."

According to statistics from the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, sales at stores near Sinchon Station in the first quarter of this year, when passenger car traffic was allowed on Yeonse-ro, increased by 33% compared to the same period last year. However, Seoul city stated, "Sales in commercial districts near other universities in Seoul also showed significant increases during the same period," and emphasized, "It is necessary to clearly verify whether the sales increase in Yeonse-ro’s commercial district is due to passenger car traffic or a base effect following the end of COVID-19," adding, "Opinions vary within the Yeonse-ro commercial district depending on store size and location."

Merchants around Yeonse-ro strongly oppose, citing that Seoul city originally allowed vehicle entry on Yeonse-ro due to reasons such as ‘intensified competition with nearby commercial districts’ and ‘empathy for the economic difficulties of local merchants.’ Kim Bong-su, president of the Sinchon Shopping District Promotion Association, said, "After the designation as a public transportation-only zone, traffic conditions and the commercial district have significantly deteriorated," and argued, "If it is reverted back to a car-free street just as the commercial district is starting to revive, merchants in this area will suffer great damage."

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