Chuncheon Jungdo Prehistoric Site Preservation Headquarters briefs at Gangwon Province Office
'Not opposed to development itself, but process must be lawful'
The Chuncheon Jungdo Prehistoric Site Preservation Headquarters held a briefing at the Gangwon Province Office briefing room on Tuesday. It called for a full review of both the cost-effectiveness of the new provincial office project in Goeun-ri and the investigation into buried cultural heritage at the site.
Kim Jong-mun, the head of the group, said Gangwon Province responded in an official document — No. 1104, dated March 10, 2023, from the Gangwon Provincial Office Building Construction Promotion Team — that the cost of newly constructing the current office building would be at least 300 billion won ($223 million). Including relocation and demolition costs, the total would rise to about 350 billion won. The province also said construction costs would likely be similar regardless of the candidate site. However, the new Goeun-ri office project is currently being pursued at a cost of about 500 billion won. The preservation headquarters said, "Despite a 150 billion won gap with rebuilding the current building, the province must disclose to residents the economic rationale for choosing Goeun-ri."
He said Gangwon Province conducted sample surveys at 85 locations across roughly 137,939.5 square meters of the project site. The Cultural Heritage Administration approved a precise excavation survey covering only 6,598 square meters on May 19 — just 4.78 percent of the entire project site. However, while construction was underway in areas not covered by the precise excavation survey, 97 suspected items of buried heritage were reported found on Sept. 1, halting construction. On Sunday, 48 more suspected artifacts were found at the new provincial office site.
Regarding the situation, the preservation headquarters said, "Rather than simply collecting the found items and resuming construction, the province must re-compare and verify the existing survey results against the actual discovery locations."
The group called for full disclosure of related materials, a re-verification of the existing survey results, and additional excavation surveys if necessary.
Kim said, "As this project involves the investment of hundreds of billions of won of residents' tax money, the province must now transparently disclose the cost-effectiveness, project costs and the results of the buried heritage survey. If we do not confirm this now, buried heritage could be discovered again during construction, costing far more time and money. The actual situation must be verified first before the project proceeds."
Kim said, "Chuncheon is a historic resource city that has functioned as a major urban center for thousands of years despite being a basin, thanks to its high elevation and abundant water. The discovery of buried heritage here is therefore highly meaningful, as it could provide major clues to history."
He added, "Following the procedures set by law and developing only after all procedures are completed, with no unlawful administrative acts, would be lawful. But many of the facts that have come to light so far make it difficult to say that the law was followed throughout the entire process."
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