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Fri, July 1, 2022 | 00:44
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Guryong Village turns into battle zone
개발번복부터 철거까지…불씨 남은 구룡마을 갈등
Posted : 2015-02-06 17:03
Updated : 2015-02-06 17:11
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Kim Ok-im, a resident of 'Guryong Village' in Gangnam, southern Seoul, cries in front of a destroyed community center, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Kim Ok-im, a resident of "Guryong Village" in Gangnam, southern Seoul, cries in front of a destroyed community center, Friday.
/ Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Court order puts on ice development fight in Gangnam slums


By Jung Min-ho


The outcome of the fight looked predetermined.

An army of well-built men were trying to overcome a group of villagers, mostly old people, and destroy a community center in Guryong in southern Seoul Friday morning.

Against the backdrop of a forest of high-rise apartments in one of the nation's most expensive areas, the villagers were pulled away one by one.

"Now the people have nowhere to go," Kim Ok-im, who has lived in the area for 18 years, told The Korea Times.

However, at 10 a.m., the men were stopped and the machines turned off, thanks to a court decision.

The Seoul Administration Court ordered the Gangnam District Office to stop the operation until Feb. 13.

The decision was made at 10 a.m., two hours after some 500 demolition workers hired by the district office and three excavators had already taken apart about half of the center, making it appear uninhabitable.

"The Gangnam District Office workers started destroying the building at 8 a.m., even though they knew the court decision would come at 10 a.m.," Kim said.

Residents said the building was also used as a shelter for dozens of residents who had stayed there since a fire in the area burned down their homes three months ago.

Their belongings were placed outside the building before the excavators started pulling it down.

About 100 village residents, mostly old people, tried to block the machines; some laid on the ground and threatened to hurt themselves. But they were eventually pushed aside by the workers.

During the scuffle, there were lots of tears, screaming and cursing. But no major violence occurred, as police officers stood nearby.

Shin Yeon-hee, head of the district office, claimed that she decided to tear down the building because it was illegally used as a community center, not a market for agricultural goods as residents had registered for at the office.

But residents said the demolition work was a product of Shin's "venomous revenge" against them, because they have long been opposed to the office's redevelopment plans for the area.

While Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Shin have been at odds for years over how to compensate the residents who would be displaced, the residents openly criticized Shin, calling her "an amazing office head who never talks to her people."

They supported Park's idea that part of the developed land should be reallocated to the residents, in lieu of cash compensation.

Shin, however, insisted that the land should be wholly purchased by the state-run developer to prevent special treatment for certain landowners.

Park eventually decided to accept the district office's demand because of safety concerns.

"Apparently, it is her revenge," Kim said. "After taking our criticism personally, she is trying to retaliate by using her authority."

Many residents believe it is just the beginning of the destruction of the last slum in the gleaming Gangnam district ahead of its redevelopment plan.

Park's predecessor, Oh Se-hoon, started the project in 2011. But after Park was sworn in that year, he said giving places back to the residents is the first thing to be done before carrying out such a plan.

A significant portion of residents are in their 70s or 80s and live alone, most of them without any sort of state assistance.

"Now many lost their home and have no money. This is heartbreaking," Kim said.


개발번복부터 철거까지…불씨 남은 구룡마을 갈등

서울시와 강남구가 구룡마을 개발사업을 재개하기로 큰 틀에서 합의했지만 강남구가 6일 마을자치회관 철거를 시도하고 서울시가 반대 입장을 밝히는 등 갈등이 지속하고 있다.

대규모 무허가 판자촌인 구룡마을을 개발하기로 한 건 오세훈 전 서울시장 재임 시절인 2011년.  

당시 서울시는 공영개발 방침을 밝혔지만 이후 취임한 박원순 시장이 사업비 등을 고려해 토지주들에게 땅으로 보상하는 환지방식을 일부 도입하기로 하자 강남구가 반대하면서 사업이 표류했다.  

강남구는 서울시가 구와 협의 없이 환지방식을 도입했으며 그러한 결정이 토지주들에게 특혜를 주기 위한 것이라는 주장을 폈다.

결국 해당 문제로 국정감사에서까지 공방이 벌어졌고, 서울시와 강남구는 각각 감사원에 '맞감사'를 요청했지만 감사원은 명확하게 한쪽 손을 들어주지 않았다. 급기야 지난해 8월 구룡마을 사업구역 고시가 실효, 사실상 사업이 무산됐다.

양쪽이 입장을 좁히지 못하는 사이 환경이 열악한 구룡마을에선 화재 등 수차례 사고가 발생했다. 

특히 지난해 11월 큰 화재로 주민이 숨지는 사고가 발생하자 박원순 서울시장과 신연희 강남구청장이 만나 구두로 조속한 협의를 약속했다. 이후 서울시와 강남구는 한 달 만에 강남구의 주장대로 전면 수용·사용방식으로 개발을 재추진하겠다고 발표했다. 

발표 후 약 3개월이 지난 현재 양측은 실무협의를 진행 중이지만 세부적인 부분에 있어선 조율이 끝나지 않고 있다. 

서울시는 최대한 강남구가 원하는 방식대로 사업계획을 빨리 완성해 착공한다는 입장이지만, 법적으로 수용·사용방식에도 환지방식과 비슷한 방식으로 사업을 추진할 수 있는 근거 조항이 있어 양측 해석이 다른데다 강남구는 환지방식을 추진했던 공무원들의 징계를 요구하고 있다. 

이처럼 양측의 입장차가 여전히 있는 가운데 강남구가 이날 세부적인 협의 없이 자치회관을 상당 부분 철거하자 서울시는 강한 목소리로 비판했다.

강남구는 자치회관 건물이 당초 농산물 직거래 점포 용도의 건물로 신고됐다고 설명했다. 이후 주민자치회가 자치회관으로 간판을 걸고 일부 토지주의 주택과 사무실 등으로 사용해온 불법 건축물이라는 것이다.

강남구는 법원 결정으로 현재 철거를 잠정 중단한 상태지만, 이미 건물은 기둥만 남은 상태다. 

이에 대해 서울시 고위관계자는 '거주민들을 보살피는 행정을 하겠다는 원칙 아래 사업 재개를 발표했으면 주민과의 대화가 필수고 그동안의 갈등을 수습하는 게 필요한데 이렇게 뒤집어놓으면 사업이 제대로 추진되겠느냐'고 지적했다.

그는 또 '겨울철 강제 철거는 절대 있을 수 없다는 게 서울시의 원칙'이라며 '사업계획에 대한 논의는 계속 진행하면서 주민과의 소통 방식에 대해서도 협의해나가겠다'고 덧붙였다. (연합뉴스)
Emailmj6c2@ktimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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