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| Dozens of store owners and artists stage a rally near Cheonggye Stream, Thursday, urging the Seoul Metropolitan Government to scrap its redevelopment plan in the Euljiro area of downtown Seoul. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
Dozens of store owners and artists staged a rally Thursday, urging the Seoul Metropolitan Government to scrap its redevelopment plan in the Euljiro area of downtown Seoul, and designate it as a special zone for manufacturers and artists.
In an effort to preserve their buildings from ongoing demolition, they established an organization to help small- and mid-sized store owners pass them on to their offspring.
"The Seoul Metropolitan Government is the primary gentrifier. Since its New Town Project was launched in 2003, a large number of old yet traditional neighborhoods have disappeared," the Cheonggye Stream Anti-Gentrification Alliance said in a statement during a press conference in front of Jung-gu Office.
Last October, the local government and the district office gave Hanho Construction the final go-ahead for the redevelopment plan.
"Due to the redevelopment plan, more than 10 percent of 400 store owners at the first demolition site have gone out of business, while others are struggling with rising monthly rent. If the project expands, there will be no places for them," the alliance said.
It added that the situation is no different for artists who have settled in older remodeled buildings in the area.
"Artists are faced with eviction due to the redevelopment. It is not a fundamental solution to offer them temporary places for their creative projects," the alliance said.
"In order to help artists as well as small business owners use one place for the long term, Seoul City should cancel the redevelopment plan and designate Euljiro as a manufacturing and cultural district."
They also claimed that public sentiment was on their side, saying 20,906 Seoul citizens signed a petition against the redevelopment plan.
After the press conference, they held a launching ceremony for the organization to campaign for a law that would allow small business owners to operate for generations, safe from redevelopment.
"In Korea, there are only six stores that have been run for at least 100 years. Although the Ministry of SMEs and Startups currently handles this issue, the results have been disappointing," said Song Chi-young, who led the preparatory work for the alliance.
Rep. Chung Dong-young, the leader of the minor Party for Democracy and Peace, Choi Seung-jae, head of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises, and other guests attended the event. Chung will serve as the alliance's adviser.
The ongoing redevelopment project is drawing complaints as it will destroy the Euljiro area that is gaining recognition as a hip place thanks to its unique ecosystem of hardware stores, garage-sized factories and eateries.
Amid growing criticism, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said Wednesday, he would seek measures to preserve streets with old-fashioned hardware stores and time-honored restaurants.
However, Song did not believe the mayor.
"Seoul City had kept silent on our repeated demands, but the mayor abruptly said the city government will make preservation efforts. This was just to counter the criticism and negative opinions," he said.
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