Inheritance after leasing... Corporate-style illegal street vendors passed down to family
Five 'family business-type' illegal street vendors removed around Cheongnyangni Station and Gyeongdong Market
First autonomous district special judicial police designated... 175 illegal street vendors (37.4%) cleared
Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Pil-hyung) announced on the 1st that it had cleared five illegal street stalls in the Cheongnyangni area on the 28th of last month.
The cleared stalls were not small livelihood-type stalls of about 1 pyeong (3.3 square meters), but corporate-type illegal stalls reaching up to 10 pyeong. In particular, it was revealed that these operators continued illegal business in more advanced forms, such as leasing the stalls or passing them on to family members.
The five demolished stalls were located on the sidewalk extending from Exit 1 of Cheongnyangni Station toward the Gyeongdong Market intersection. This area is the busiest section in the district, with unauthorized occupied space reaching about 20 meters.
Although the sidewalk width in this section is 4 meters, the space available for pedestrians was reduced to about 2 meters due to the illegal stalls, causing significant inconvenience to residents and market visitors. These fixed-structure stalls continuously infringed on citizens' right to walk.
Operator A of the demolished stalls owned multiple stalls and managed corporate-type stalls by leasing them to third parties or employing workers. Other stalls were also operated as family businesses, with the operator’s son or daughter-in-law running the business, indicating a hereditary business model beyond corporate-type stalls.
Since the inauguration of the 8th local government, Dongdaemun-gu has demolished 175 out of 562 street stalls (37.4%). Especially aiming to create “streets where people want to walk,” Dongdaemun-gu has designated special judicial police in the field of road law for the first time among autonomous districts to intensify the crackdown on illegal stalls.
Currently, Dongdaemun-gu is proceeding with demolitions while informing stall associations and members of the stall management principles and demolition priorities decided by the “Street Stall Maintenance Advisory Group,” considering on-site conditions and urgency.
The positive change in Dongdaemun-gu, which had suffered from illegal stalls, is evident in the rock garden created around the Gyeongdong Market intersection (137 Wangsanno). This site had been left with protest tents by stall groups for nine months. Dongdaemun-gu negotiated with the stall groups and achieved voluntary removal of the tents in December last year, and established the current rock garden in their place.
Lee Pil-hyung, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “We will continue thorough management and crackdowns to prevent citizens from experiencing inconvenience due to illegal stalls.” He added, “We will take even stronger measures against corporate-type and non-livelihood stalls that are leased or inherited.” He also emphasized, “We will do our best to secure citizens’ right to walk and create clean, walkable streets.”
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