Mayor Park Kangsoo Attends 2nd Meeting on Preserving Former President Kim Daejung's Residence

On May 9 at 2:30 p.m., Park Kangsoo, Mayor of Mapo-gu, attended the '2nd Preservation Promotion Committee Meeting for the Late President Kim Daejung's Donggyo-dong Residence' held in the main conference room of Mapo-gu Office, and began full-scale discussions on registering the residence as a National Registered Cultural Heritage.

This meeting was the second following the first session held in December 2024. Preservation Promotion Committee members, including Committee Chair Park Kangsoo, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Bae Kiseon, Secretary-General of the Kim Daejung Foundation, and Kim Jongdae, representative of the bereaved family, attended to share in-depth opinions on the direction for preserving the residence.

In July 2024, ownership of the residence was transferred to the private sector, raising concerns about the potential degradation of its cultural heritage value due to private sales or changes in use. In response, Mapo-gu began efforts to register the residence as a National Registered Cultural Heritage, starting with a visit to the National Heritage Administration in October 2024 and the honorary designation of 'Kim Daejung-gil' as a street name.

During the meeting, participants shared the progress made so far and discussed ways to utilize the residence to preserve its historical value and contribute to society. They also discussed whether to establish a 'Residence Preservation Committee' for systematic management and considered its operational direction.

Based on these discussions, the district plans to accelerate efforts to register the residence as a National Registered Cultural Heritage, in cooperation with the Kim Daejung Foundation and the bereaved family.

Mayor Park Kangsoo stated, "Both the media and the public have shown warm support for the Donggyo-dong residence preservation project, which means many people agree that the Donggyo-dong residence is a living part of our modern history and a precious cultural heritage that must be preserved. Until the day the residence is registered as a National Registered Cultural Heritage, Mapo-gu will take the lead in fulfilling our responsibility and mission to pass it on intact to the next generation."