UNESCO Issues Warning of Jongmyo's 'World Heritage Stripping'... Cultural Heritage Administration Delivers Ultimatum to Seoul City

If Seoul Fails to Confirm Heritage Impact Assessment by Month's End, Jongmyo May Be Listed as Heritage in Danger
Cultural Heritage Administration Urges Tripartite Dialogue with Seoul City Over 145m High-Rise Development

Heo Min, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, conveyed the international community's serious concerns about Jongmyo Shrine during a press briefing held at the National Palace Museum on the afternoon of the 16th.

Jongmyo Shrine, located in the heart of Seoul, is facing an unprecedented diplomatic crisis that could result in the loss of its World Heritage status. As the Seoul Metropolitan Government pushes forward with high-rise development in Sewoon District 4 in front of Jongmyo Shrine, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has sent a stern warning letter.

The Cultural Heritage Administration has urged an immediate halt to Seoul’s unilateral permitting process and called for comprehensive dialogue to prevent a catastrophe. On the afternoon of March 16, Heo Min, Commissioner of the Cultural Heritage Administration, held a press briefing at the National Palace Museum, conveying the international community’s serious concerns regarding Jongmyo Shrine.

He stated, "Last weekend, we received the most severe and detailed letter to date from the World Heritage Centre," adding, "It is deeply concerning that the upcoming 48th session of the World Heritage Committee, scheduled to be held in Busan this July, could potentially become a forum to discuss whether Jongmyo Shrine will lose its World Heritage status." He further criticized, "It is extremely worrisome that, on a stage where Korea has the perfect opportunity to promote its national prestige to the world, we might end up showing the world the embarrassing reality that the host country’s own World Heritage is not properly protected."

Jongmyo Is Suffering from the High-Rise Development Issue in Sewoon District 4
Photo by Yonhap News

In its letter, UNESCO warned that if Seoul proceeds with the development of the Sewoon District despite two previous recommendations from UNESCO, it would have a highly negative impact on Jongmyo Shrine’s World Heritage status. The letter also specified a concrete deadline and follow-up measures. If the Seoul Metropolitan Government does not reply within this month with a letter confirming its intention to undergo a Heritage Impact Assessment, UNESCO notified that it would impose severe sanctions. In the absence of a clear commitment, UNESCO threatened to bring the issue of Jongmyo Shrine’s preservation to the agenda of the 48th World Heritage Committee session in Busan this July, or to dispatch experts to forcibly conduct an official on-site inspection.

Placing an item on the preservation agenda is a critical step. It may lead to the site being downgraded to ‘Heritage in Danger,’ or, in the worst case, serve as a preliminary stage before losing World Heritage status altogether. In such a case, Korea would be hard-pressed to avoid international embarrassment as the host country of the 48th World Heritage Committee session. For the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which is seeking the inscription of Hanyang Fortress as a World Heritage site next year, this would also be a painful blow. The international community will inevitably criticize the city for failing to properly protect its existing World Heritage site in the city center while simultaneously seeking new inscriptions.

Despite ongoing pressure, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jongno District have not stopped administrative procedures. In fact, they have abandoned the previously agreed 11.9-meter height restriction from 2018 and are pushing ahead with plans for super high-rise development reaching up to 145 meters. Commissioner Heo criticized, "The Seoul Metropolitan Government is pushing ahead with high-rise development, ignoring the Cultural Heritage Administration’s official request to halt the permitting process and even violating buried heritage laws."

On the afternoon of the 16th, the Cultural Heritage Administration held a press briefing at the National Palace Museum, demanding a tripartite discussion involving Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, Jongno District Mayor Jeong Munheon, and Cultural Heritage Administration Commissioner Heo Min.

Previously, the Cultural Heritage Administration proposed a procedure to shorten the Heritage Impact Assessment period to one year, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government dismissed it, citing a lack of legal basis. Instead, the city counter-proposed forming a four-party consultative body that would include representatives of local residents. Commissioner Heo stated, "Representatives of the residents have filed a civil lawsuit worth 25.5 billion won against ten public officials from the Cultural Heritage Administration who acted proactively," adding, "It is unreasonable for the parties who filed the lawsuit and the administrative agency to sit together at the negotiation table."

The Cultural Heritage Administration has now proposed the formation of a top-level dialogue body to prevent a catastrophic outcome. On the condition that the scheduled March 19 meeting of the Seoul Integrated Urban Renewal Review Committee be suspended, it has called for a tripartite discussion involving Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, Jongno District Mayor Jeong Munheon, and Cultural Heritage Administration Commissioner Heo Min. Commissioner Heo urged, "If the project implementation permit is finalized, reversing it will require even greater sacrifice. I sincerely ask that we resolve mutual conflict and misunderstanding through new discussions and work together for a better future for the city of Seoul."

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