Seoul hits wall in bid to fine Cheonggyecheon 'bath villains' as change requires presidential decree

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced plans to impose fines on people bathing in Cheonggyecheon and has begun pushing for regulatory reform, but the effort faces a significant hurdle: the change requires amending a presidential decree, not a city ordinance.

Seoul recently began discussions with the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy on revising the River Act, though city officials expect the legislative process to take considerable time.

The provision under review is Article 51-2 of the River Act enforcement decree — a presidential decree — which covers acts that obstruct river flow or cause pollution. The article currently lists only two prohibited acts: abandoning or leaving agricultural materials such as vinyl sheeting and farm equipment in rivers, and abandoning or leaving fishing gear and vessels such as nets in rivers.

Local governments may impose fines only when explicitly authorized by law, meaning the River Act itself must be amended before bathing in Cheonggyecheon can be penalized. Seoul's existing ordinance on the use and management of Cheonggyecheon allows only administrative guidance — warnings and advisories — for acts such as swimming or bathing, but provides no basis for fines.

"Adding a prohibited act to the law requires a thorough analysis of how that act affects the public as a whole," a Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy official said. "Even inserting a single line banning bathing with detergent into the enforcement decree would require an electronic public hearing, a regulatory impact analysis and a regulatory impact assessment. It typically takes several years."

Seoul officials acknowledge that levying fines for bathing will not be easy. Banning detergent use in rivers could cast a wide net of liability. "If detergent use in rivers is banned, doing laundry in any rural stream in the country could also become subject to a fine — that is why amending the law for fines is so difficult," a city official said. "We are also reviewing a proposal to limit the scope to detergent use in urban streams."

The controversy began after a video of a middle-aged woman spreading out bathing supplies and washing herself at the water's edge of Cheonggyecheon went viral on social media under the label "Cheonggyecheon bath villain" on July 25. That same month, another video showing a man and a woman collecting coins from around the "wishing stones" at Palseoktam near Cheonggye Plaza spread online, drawing public outrage. In response, the city stationed a dedicated patrol officer at both Palseoktam, where the coin collection occurred, and near Gosanja Bridge, where the waterside bathing took place. It also added banners and signs at six locations warning visitors against entering the water, bathing, smoking and drinking.

The city plans to revise relevant laws and ordinances to move beyond its current guidance-centered approach toward a system linking prevention, on-site intervention and follow-up sanctions.

Where existing regulations fall short of enabling sanctions, the city intends to amend its ordinances to spell out prohibited acts and penalty standards, and to establish a concrete legal basis for imposing fines.

Videos circulating on social media recently showed a middle-aged man and woman wading into the water to collect coins that visitors had tossed in while making wishes, drawing widespread public anger. Footage of a middle-aged woman bathing at the stream's edge with toiletries laid out beside her also drew attention online.