Taepyeong Hall, one of the buildings of Seoul City Hall, is being demolished in the city government’s remodeling of the buildings, Tuesday. The remodeling work was suspended after the Cultural Properties Committee designated the buildings as a historic relic.
/ Yonhap |
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Seoul City and the heritage protection agency are sparring over the remodeling of the old city hall building. The culture authority provisionally designated the building a historic relic when the city government began dismantling part of it, and demanded a halt to the demolition.
The city Tuesday started dismantling one of the city hall buildings, the Taepyeong Hall, located just behind the main front building facing Seoul Plaza. The work was part of the local government's scheme to remodel the 82-year-old buildings and establish a new city hall behind them by 2011. All city workers moved to a nearby annex in June for the construction.
The main building and Taepyeong Hall are registered as cultural properties No. 52. Registered cultural property is a type of national cultural heritage, but unlike national treasures or historic relics, there is no legal protection restricting their transformation or demolition.
The Cultural Properties Committee under the Cultural Heritage Administration has recommended the city preserve the buildings as they are, saying they have historic value.
But the city pushed ahead with the demolition of the building, Tuesday, prompting the committee to temporarily designate them as historic relics in the afternoon. The city stopped the work, as any remodeling work of relics without the committee's permission is now illegal.
The committee will decide within six months whether to lift the designation or to extend it.
Protection vs. Development
The city claims that it should remodel the buildings as they are old and may have safety problems.
It said that a recent inspection gave the facade of the main front building an E level, meaning it needs immediate reinforcement or rebuilding, and Taepyeong Hall, a D, indicating structural problems due to corrosion of iron bars and concrete.
``For safety reasons, the facade and Taepyeong Hall need to be dismantled and restored,'' a city official at the Housing Bureau said.
The committee, however, claims that cultural assets should be inspected under different safety standards from those of modern-style buildings.
``Once dismantled, such buildings lose their value as cultural heritages, so restoration after dismantlement does not help preserve the cultural property,'' a committee member said.
Regarding the designation, the city official said, ``We think the designation is unfair. We are considering requesting the court to suspend or cancel it.''
Separately from the old buildings, the city plans to keep constructing the new city hall.
The main front building, built in 1926 during Japanese colonial rule, has been a landmark of Seoul. The four-story building was a good example of the architectural style in the 1920s. Taepyeong Hall behind it was used for meetings until recently.
When the new city hall is built, the city plans to use the old main building as a cultural venue for citizens, with a library and exhibition halls.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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