By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter

Seoul City announced the transfer of street vendors in Jongno Street to specialized areas, Sunday.

The move is a part of the city's plan to make the downtown streets more pedestrian-friendly. Previously, the streets were filled with street vendors occupying almost half of the sidewalks.

The 45 street stalls are going to be moved to the "Street of Light" in Gwansu-dong, near Jongno, starting Monday. The road underwent renovations by removing nine current transformers and installing nine more street lights and some 350 floor light fittings.

The new stands will be standardized and the size is limited to 1.8-meter-wide, 1-meter-long and 2-meter high.

"When these street vendors are relocated, Jongno 3-ga will provide a better environment for pedestrians," a city official said.

The remaining 100 street stands will be transferred to a "Multicultural Street" in Nakwon-dong, which is to be completed by the end of the year.

The city already finished transferring street stalls on Jongno 2- and 4-ga to alleys connected to the main street earlier this year.

The street vendors selling seedlings and flowers on Jongno 5- and 6-ga will also be moved to nearby areas this year as well.

meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr