Who is responsible for marathon road closures?
Participants of the 20th International Peace Marathon start near Bongeun Temple in Gangnam District, Seoul, in this Oct. 9, 2023, photo. Newsis
City marathons are approved and controlled on roads by regional police authorities, while city governments have the authority to approve the use of specific public venues as start and end points.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it is aware of the inconvenience caused by the increasing number of running events and is trying to minimize complaints by sending text message notices to residents about upcoming marathons and road closure plans.
However, it added that there is only so much it can control, as it does not have the authority to approve or reject the events themselves.
"We, too, wish the marathons wouldn't be hosted at the city center and instead at less-crowded areas like the riverside along the Han River. But so many runners want to experience running a marathon in the inner parts of the city," said Cha Jin-ju, head of the sports policy division under the city government's Tourism & Sports Bureau.
"Hosts want it too because it rakes in more money. We rejected sponsoring some marathons that are held in the city center and instead advised them to host the events on the outskirts or more secluded areas of the city. Last year, fewer than 20 percent of marathons held in Seoul started from the city center."
She said organizers and sponsors, which sometimes include central government ministries, are unaware of just how stressful marathons have become for city residents.
"We sent a letter of advice to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which was among the ministries that sponsored this year's YTN Seoul Tour Marathon that happened last Sunday. We informed them the marathon which started at Seoul Plaza might cause inconvenience to the public," she said. "As for the police, they must carefully decide on approving the events considering their impact on urban residents. They have the right to reject the events if the marathons are deemed a source of serious disruption in the city."
Seoul Metropolitan Government spokesperson Lee Min-kyung said the city is reshaping regulations to mitigate the inconvenience caused by marathons while still continuing to boost Seoul's running trend.
"We are proposing an expanded use of riverside spaces along the Han River where road closures place a relatively smaller burden on traffic. For races held in downtown areas, we are suggesting that events start as early as possible before people begin to commute and businesses open," she said.
"The events will have to be spread across different dates and locations to avoid concentration in particular areas or time slots. We'll identify more alternative routes, while applying stricter oversight to events that repeatedly violate standards or cause excessive inconvenience to residents."