Cultural Heritage Administration "Legal Action on Damage to Gusan-dong Dolmen in Gimhae... Assessing Damage Extent"

Unauthorized Maintenance Work Conducted... Gimhae City Recognized for Violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act
Plans to Investigate Whether a Forklift Was Actually Operated at the Construction Site

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 7th that it confirmed Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, carried out maintenance work on the Gusan-dong dolmen (Gyeongnam Provincial Monument) without conducting an archaeological survey and will take legal action. They plan to conduct an excavation to assess the extent of the damage and devise a plan for restoration.

The Cultural Heritage Administration recently received a complaint that cultural heritage was damaged during the maintenance project of the dolmen promoted by Gimhae City and requested a halt to the construction. After sending experts to the site on the 5th for investigation, it was found that Gimhae City violated the Burial Cultural Heritage Protection Act and altered the site without permission. Beneath the dolmen where maintenance work was carried out, there are flagstones (thin and flat stones) and a Bronze Age cultural layer.

The "Act on the Protection and Investigation of Burial Cultural Heritage" stipulates that if any changes are made within a "preserved area" where burial cultural heritage is recognized to exist, separate cultural heritage protection measures must be established and investigations conducted accordingly. In the case of the Gusan-dong dolmen, removing the flagstones, which are believed to mark the dolmen burial area, requires prior excavation permission from the Cultural Heritage Administration. Gimhae City acknowledged the lack of prior consultation in a statement released the previous day.

The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to form an investigation team and begin excavation on-site as soon as possible. Since a backhoe was reportedly operated at the site, they also plan to examine whether there are discrepancies between the maintenance plan submitted to the province and the actual construction process.

The Gusan-dong dolmen was discovered during the development of the Gusan-dong residential district in Gimhae in 2006. Scholars regard it as the largest dolmen in the world, with the burial facility area centered on the dolmen reaching 1,615 square meters. Gimhae City, facing difficulties in securing a budget due to the large scale of the site at the time of excavation, preserved it by filling the road with soil and has been carrying out restoration and maintenance projects since December 2020 to promote its designation as a historic site.