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| Site for Geomdan New Town in Incheon / Korea Times file |
By Park Ji-won
The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) rejected Thursday a revised plan offered by construction companies for what it called the "illegal" building of an apartment complex near Jangneung Royal Tomb, a UNESCO-listed site dating back to the 17th century in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, asking the firms to submit a better one.
The CHA Heritage Committee said that it would "defer" a final decision on the plan. "The plan cannot guarantee the preservation of the historic and cultural value of the heritage site," it said in a statement. "So, the administration decided to defer a decision and will form another committee to discuss the issue further."
A deferral is the third-lowest in a four-tier system that includes "approval," "partial approval," "defer" and "not approved."
The move came after the CHA found out in May that the three firms ― Daebang Construction, Daekwang Construction and Kumsung Baekjoe ― had not undertaken the preliminary procedures required to build a structure with than 20 meters in height within a 500-meter radius of a cultural heritage site. The residential complex that would house about 3,400 households within Geomdan New Town in northern Incheon, close to the heritage site, was planned to be completed by next summer.
The three firms claim that they followed the procedures required by Incheon Metropolitan Government.
The CHA also ordered the companies to halt construction of 19 buildings out of a total 44 buildings in the complex that could interfere with views of the heritage site, while filing a police complaint against the construction project in September for a violation of the Cultural Properties Protection Law.
The three construction companies submitted a plan to paint the buildings in a way to highlight the tomb and added a traditional-style pavilion to their development plan.
