서울: “방탄소년단 콘서트를 앞두고 ‘감사의 정원’ 공사 중단으로 안전 우려 제기” - 경향신문

“We will address the issues pointed out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport” The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated on the 24th that it would supplement the issues pointed out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regarding the Garden of Gratitude project at Gwanghwamun Square. It said that if construction is halted now, there are concerns about safety incidents ahead of the BTS concert, and that at least the structural framework needs to be completed. The city submitted the previous day to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport an opinion letter of this content regarding the prior notice of a construction suspension order that the Ministry had sent to the city. On the 9th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a prior notice of a suspension order, saying that the Garden of Gratitude project violated the National Land Planning and Utilization Act and the Road Act, and asked that opinions be submitted by the 23rd of this month. Seoul said, “Although there have been differences in views with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regarding the National Land Planning and Utilization Act and related matters for the Garden of Gratitude project at Gwanghwamun Square, we have decided to immediately supplement the procedures stipulated by the Act, while respecting the views of the Ministry as much as possible.” To address the issues pointed out in the prior notice of the construction suspension order, the city plans to carry out the procedures for preparing and publicly notifying the implementation plan for the aboveground symbolic installation. For the underground media space, it will go through a change to the urban management plan and the procedures for preparing and publicly notifying the implementation plan. As of January, the Garden of Gratitude was 55% complete. The city stated, “If construction is halted in the current state, major safety accidents are a concern due to ground weakening and structural instability as the thawing season coincides.” Accordingly, it takes the position that completing the minimum structural framework is necessary to block the inflow of rainwater and prevent ground subsidence, and that some processes must proceed to achieve this. For the building work, slabs (beams) have been removed, and it says that work must proceed at least to restore them in order to secure safety. At present, the structure is supported by temporary supports. The city requested the cooperation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport so that safety measures at the construction site can be implemented to prevent casualties and minimize unnecessary fiscal losses. It also cited the reason that “with a crowd of 250,000 people expected to gather for the BTS concert on March 21, the occurrence of an accident could directly lead to a tarnishing of the national image.” The city plans to submit an additional opinion letter to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport after synthesizing the views of the contractor, the supervision team, and experts. Administrative Second Vice Mayor Kim Seong-bo said, “We will immediately implement the procedures under the National Land Planning and Utilization Act that were pointed out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport,” and added, “We hope the Ministry will cooperate in on-site safety management until a stage is reached at which safety at the Gwanghwamun Square construction site can be ensured.”