Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young (third from right) and Huh Min, head of the Korea Heritage Service (second from left), visit Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul on November 7 to inspect the site following the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding a city ordinance that eases development restrictions outside historical preservation zones. The two are seen looking at the monument commemorating Jongmyo’s UNESCO World Heritage designation. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young on Friday visited Jongmyo Shrine in central Seoul with the head of the nation’s heritage agency and vowed to “take every possible measure,” including revising laws, to prevent high-rise buildings from being built directly across from the shrine.
The visit came a day after the Supreme Court upheld the Seoul metropolitan council’s approval of a revised local ordinance, effectively clearing the way for tall buildings near the sacred site.
“Jongmyo is a sacred heritage site where the ancestral tablets of the Joseon royal family are enshrined, and it holds symbolic significance as Korea’s first UNESCO World Heritage site,” Chae told reporters. “It is deeply concerning that the value of such heritage could be damaged under the current circumstances.”
In this file photo, officials participate in an annual royal ancestral ritual at Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul on May 4, 2025, known as “Jongmyo Daeje.” The ritual honors the past kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
Chae strongly criticized the city government’s handling of the issue during the press conference at the shrine.
“What kind of bizarre situation is this?” he said. “I simply cannot understand the attitude of the Seoul metropolitan government, which seems to believe it can do whatever it wants just because it holds limited authority.”
Chae instructed Huh Min, the head of the Korea Heritage Service, to swiftly review all possible countermeasures, including legal revisions.
Huh said the matter was not just about shadows being cast over Jongmyo.
“Imagine ultra-high-rise buildings surrounding a World Heritage site, towering over it from above,” he said. “We will use every means available to protect its World Heritage status.”
Wol-lang (side corridors of the main hall) at Jongmyo Shrine (Image provided by the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, Korea Heritage Service)
Last month, the city government revised its redevelopment plan for the Sewun 4 District, located just across from the shrine, raising the maximum building height from 71.9 meters to 145 meters — more than double the previous cap.
Huh warned during a National Assembly session Thursday that the city’s plan could jeopardize Jongmyo’s UNESCO inscription, noting that the designation explicitly required that no high-rise buildings be permitted in adjacent areas that could harm the site’s landscape.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism had previously filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the council’s 2023 decision to remove a provision restricting development near cultural heritage sites, arguing the change was made without the legally required consultation with the heritage service.
The Supreme Court, however, ruled in favor of the council Thursday, saying the decision was a lawful exercise of its legislative authority.
Jongmyo Shrine was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995 for its outstanding universal value as the oldest and most intact royal Confucian shrine in existence.
(Yonhap)
