Controversy Sparked by 'Gwanghwamun Taegeukgi' Rendering... City Says "Revision Finalized, Will Be Released Soon"

Gwanghwamun Square's '100m High Taegeukgi' Project Still Controversial
Oh: "Perspective View Misleading, No Disruption to Gwanghwamun Design"
Responding to Excessive Budget Criticism: "Includes Various Auxiliary Facilities" Explained Directly

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will hold a session to re-explain the controversial '100m high Taegeukgi' project within Gwanghwamun Square to the citizens. It was judged that misunderstandings arose due to the incorrect perspective rendering released at the time of the initial announcement, and Seoul City is known to have completed all revisions of the related materials.

On the 8th, a Seoul city official stated, "The materials released to the public at the time of the initial announcement were created to emphasize the Taegeukgi excessively for explanatory purposes," and added, "A session to unveil the new perspective rendering and to convey the intent again will be arranged within this week."

Earlier, on the 25th of last month, Mayor Oh held a meeting at Seoul City Hall with veterans of the Korean War and announced that as part of the national symbol space creation project in Gwanghwamun Square, approximately 11 billion KRW would be spent to build a 'large Taegeukgi' and an 'eternal flame.' A specially made Taegeukgi, the largest in the country measuring 21m wide and 14m high, is planned to be hoisted on the flagpole. Regarding the 'eternal flame,' it will be decided in consultation with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs whether to create an actual flame similar to the Olympic torch or to install it using lighting methods.

However, immediately after the announcement, controversy arose over excessive patriotism. There was also backlash against adding nationalist sculptures in Gwanghwamun Square, where statues of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and King Sejong already stand. Some civic groups expressed their stance calling it a "anachronistic measure."

In response, Mayor Oh addressed the issue at a press conference marking his second anniversary in office earlier this month, saying, "I will listen more to that issue," and "I am a rational person, so I respond to reasonable criticism. There will be an opportunity to explain soon." He also appeared on a broadcast the day before and said, "Our explanation was somewhat lacking. Around next week, I plan to personally show different images and explain them at the Seoul City press room. The image shown earlier is an exaggerated depiction emphasizing the Taegeukgi excessively, so it is a wrong image."

When asked if the image was made by Seoul City, he replied, "We made it, but it was just an example," and added, "We will hold a design competition, and the actual design will be much slimmer and will not disrupt the design of Gwanghwamun Square." Regarding the excessive project cost, he explained, "The 11 billion KRW is not just for making the flagpole but also includes various auxiliary facilities underneath."

Seoul City plans to create an opportunity to re-explain the '100m high Taegeukgi' project to citizens as early as this week. It is expected that detailed explanations about the height and the purpose of creating the national symbol space will be reiterated.

The integrated design competition to be promoted between August and November will be conducted including an international design competition. The basic and detailed designs are scheduled to be completed by April next year, with construction starting in May. The planned completion date is February 2026.

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