Naju Citizens' Rights Committee Decides on Recommendation for Preservation or Demolition of Goguryeo Palace

The Naju Citizens' Rights Committee has decided to submit a policy recommendation regarding the preservation or demolition of Goguryeo Palace in connection with the Namdo Uprising History Park development project to the city by mid-April.

According to Naju City on the 17th, the Naju Citizens' Rights Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Citizens' Rights Committee) held a public debate on the preservation and demolition of Goguryeo Palace at 2 p.m. on the 14th in the city hall's main conference room, and immediately after, held an internal meeting to make this decision.

Launched in July 2023, the Citizens' Rights Committee is a public-private cooperative body that seeks solutions through field-centered communication, listening, and discussion.

It places major resident demands, conflict management projects, and difficulties on the agenda, and through discussion, deliberation, and resolution processes, it plays a role in recommending practical solutions and policies to the administration for correction.

After the public debate on that day, the Citizens' Rights Committee held a committee meeting and received recommendations for two structural experts each from both the preservation and demolition sides of Goguryeo Palace, deciding to hold an expert debate by mid-April.

Based on the results of the debate, the committee plans to finalize the policy recommendation related to the Goguryeo Palace demolition issue and submit it to the city.

However, if no experts are recommended by the end of March, the committee will submit a policy recommendation to proceed with the demolition of Goguryeo Palace according to the existing project plan without a debate.

Earlier, at the public debate held from 2 p.m. on the 14th, participants included Choi Young-tae, co-chairman of the Citizens' Rights Committee and moderator of the debate; Cho Cheol-hee, CEO of the Korea Structural Safety Research Institute; Choi Woo-ram, senior research fellow at the Jeonnam Research Institute; Kim Nam-cheol, representative of the Naju History Education Research Association; and Choi Hyun-ho, representative of the Together-Making World organization, who participated as discussion presenters.

Also, through chairman recommendations, Cheon Deuk-yeom, professor emeritus at Chonnam National University, and Seo Geum-seok, senior research fellow at the Honam Studies Promotion Institute, participated as alternative proposal presenters.

The venue was filled with about 100 seats occupied by residents of Gongsan-myeon, where the Namdo Uprising History Park will be established, members of the Uprising clans, journalists, city officials including Mayor Yoon Byung-tae, and others.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “I believe all citizens share the hope that the Namdo Uprising History Museum will inherit the righteous spirit of Naju and be utilized as a tourism resource for regional development as a mecca of historical culture,” adding, “Although there are various opinions and alternatives regarding the pros and cons of Goguryeo Palace, I hope this debate will be a time for everyone to deliberate realistically with an open mind.”

The debate proceeded with presentations related to the demolition of Goguryeo Palace and alternative proposals, followed by a Q&A session with citizens.

Presenters Choi Hyun-ho and Kim Nam-cheol, who participated in the debate, expressed opposition to the demolition of Goguryeo Palace, emphasizing the need to attract tourists by preserving and utilizing the existing building to create synergy with the Namdo Uprising History Museum.

On the other hand, expert presenter Cho Cheol-hee explained in detail the concrete strength, carbonation investigation, and defect inspection of the lower structure of Goguryeo Palace based on the 2022 Jeollanam-do detailed safety inspection results, arguing that demolition is necessary considering structural safety and durability.

Senior research fellow Choi Woo-ram explained three alternatives derived from the 2023 feasibility study on utilizing existing buildings within the Namdo Uprising History Park site: “complete demolition followed by landscaping,” “upper demolition and lower remodeling,” and “complete preservation with upper and lower remodeling.”

Researcher Choi also mentioned the 30-year estimated B/C values and budget sizes for the three alternatives, stating, “Although all three lack economic feasibility, complete demolition followed by landscaping has relatively better economic feasibility.”

Meanwhile, the Namdo Uprising History Museum is a key project of Jeollanam-do to honor the patriotic spirit of the Namdo Uprising and inherit the spirit of the militia.

In July 2020, Jeollanam-do selected approximately 110,000 pyeong in the Naju Video Theme Park area in Gongsan-myeon, Naju City, as the site for the Namdo Uprising History Park and Museum through a public contest, and is proceeding with museum construction procedures aiming for opening in the second half of 2025.

Naju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong bless4ya@asiae.co.kr