Construction at Gangwon Province's new headquarters halted for 10 days after 145 artifacts found

A civic group said Friday that 145 suspected artifacts have been found at the construction site of Gangwon Province's new headquarters in Goeun-ri, Chuncheon, since Sept. 1.

The discovery prompted Chuncheon to order a work stoppage on the morning of Sept. 2. Friday marked the 10th consecutive day of the halt.

In a complaint filed with the Cultural Heritage Administration on Sept. 2, the group — known as Jungdo Bonbu — made six requests: that the agency directly inspect the site; that the discoverers be allowed to participate in the on-site review; that experts examine the finds; that the area where 67 items were found and covered over be re-examined; that a new investigation be conducted of the unexcavated area where 30 items were found; and that the appropriateness of the scope of previous surveys and precision excavations be verified.

The Cultural Heritage Administration replied Wednesday, saying it would "handle the measures you raised, such as the work suspension, in accordance with laws and regulations related to buried cultural heritage." Jungdo Bonbu said the agency provided no specific explanation of whether or how it planned to implement preservation measures.

"A boilerplate answer saying it will act in accordance with the law cannot address citizens' questions," said Kim Jong-mun, the group's representative. "Now that the work has been stopped for 10 days, the Cultural Heritage Administration must transparently disclose what it has confirmed at the site and what procedures it is carrying out."

Jungdo Bonbu urged that the decision on whether to resume construction must not be based solely on the results of previous surveys, given that additional artifacts continue to be found at the Goeun-ri site. The group said an objective on-site inspection by the relevant authorities and any necessary re-investigation must come first.

The project to build Gangwon Province's new headquarters in Goeun-ri, Dongne-myeon, Chuncheon covers a site of approximately 100,000 square meters and calls for a building with two below-ground floors and nine above-ground floors. The total project cost is approximately 500 billion won ($374 million).

Citing a past response from the provincial government, the civic group said building a new headquarters at the current site would cost 350 billion won. The difference of 150 billion won amounts to roughly 100,000 won per Gangwon resident if the relocation to Goeun-ri proceeds.

"The fact that 48 more items were found after construction was already halted over the initial discovery of 97 artifacts shows that a thorough re-examination of the buried heritage distribution at the site and the results of previous surveys is necessary," Jungdo Bonbu said.

Meanwhile, Gangwon Province Governor U Sang-ho said at a press briefing Monday that he would wait for expert assessment before deciding on next steps. "I will judge after seeing the results — whether what was found at the Goeun-ri site actually constitutes artifacts and whether they have value," he said. "We will take action after obtaining an appraisal from a specialized institution."

Gangwon Province announced Tuesday that as part of an organizational restructuring set to take effect in January, the "Provincial Office Relocation Task Force" would be reorganized into the "Public Office Building Construction Division," with a mandate to strengthen expertise and project management for public construction projects. The change removes the word "relocation" from the name of the unit overseeing the new headquarters project.