Seoul's Jongmyo simulation image 'copied from Naver Street View,' lawmaker says

A 3D simulation image released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government — presented as the most accurate depiction of the view from Jongmyo shrine toward the Sewoon District 4 redevelopment site — was in fact fabricated using an unauthorized Naver Street View photo, a lawmaker alleged at a national audit Friday. The city also stands accused of exploiting the exaggerated perspective of an ultra-wide-angle image to make buildings reaching up to 141.9 meters appear smaller and farther away than they actually are.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Noh Jong-myeon raised the allegation at the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee national audit, saying the simulation image of Jongmyo and Sewoon District 4 that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon had previously released was manipulated. "Mayor Oh and the Seoul Metropolitan Government used a doctored image to deceive the public," Noh said.

The image at the center of the dispute is a "future Sewoon district" simulation that Oh unveiled at a Seoul Metropolitan Council policy session on Nov. 18, 2025. The rendering depicted the view from the Jeongjeon Sangwoldae — the main shrine platform at Jongmyo — looking toward Sewoon District 4, and was presented as evidence that high-rise buildings planned for the site would not encroach on Jongmyo's historic landscape even after redevelopment.

Oh, appearing before the council in person, held up the simulation image and said, "Our work is the most accurate." He said the city had input precise data and used 3D techniques to capture exactly what a person standing directly in front of the main shrine would see with their own eyes.

Noh said the background image in the city's simulation matches a Naver Street View photo taken in 2018, pointing to identical cloud formations, surrounding scenery and even a distorted pillar of the Gongsindan building that appears cut off in the same way in both images.

"The shape of the clouds and the tilted, truncated pillar distortion on the Gongsindan building across from the main shrine in the city's simulation are identical to the Naver Street View photo taken in 2018," Noh said. He said the city used a street view image shot with a short focal length that exaggerates perspective, making distant buildings appear smaller and farther away than they really are.

Noh also presented what he described as evidence that traces of the Street View source had been deliberately removed. He said the city deleted Naver Street View's unique identifying markers, erased a construction crane near tree branches, and altered the shape of a wooded area on the right side of the image. The marker at the base of the Sangwoldae — the shooting location — was covered over by cloning an adjacent section of the image, he said.

Noh also said the city violated its own standards, noting that Seoul's integrated landscape review manual requires photographs to be taken at eye level with a standard 50mm lens and explicitly prohibits the use of street view images.

The dispute is rooted in a broader conflict between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Cultural Heritage Administration over high-rise development in Sewoon District 4 in front of Jongmyo. The city maintains that raising the maximum building height from 71.9 meters to 141.9 meters would have only a limited impact on Jongmyo's landscape. The Cultural Heritage Administration, however, has argued that tall buildings pose a serious threat to the value and surrounding scenery of Jongmyo — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — and has demanded that a heritage impact assessment be completed before any development proceeds.

Noh also took issue with an ad balloon demonstration the city conducted after releasing the simulation. On Wednesday, People Power Party members of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee visited Jongmyo and Sewoon District 4 to assess the redevelopment's potential impact on the surrounding landscape. Four ad balloons were installed at the planned building locations, at heights of 94, 99, 141 and 142 meters. After viewing them, the PPP lawmakers said the balloons did not obstruct sightlines and questioned the Cultural Heritage Administration's concerns about landscape damage.

Noh said that citing a photograph already suspected of distorting the view to justify a conclusion of "no landscape damage" after the balloon demonstration amounted to nothing more than a staged show to legitimize a conclusion the city had already reached.

"The Seoul Metropolitan Government floated the ad balloons over Sewoon District 4 about two months after releasing the fake simulation," Noh said. "They staged the same show again this month — it is a clever sleight of hand and a fraud perpetrated on the public."

The Cultural Heritage Administration also came under fire for failing to determine whether the image had been manipulated during an earlier audit and for responding to the matter too passively.

Cultural Heritage Administration chief Heo Min said Jongmyo is a World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in 1995 in recognition of its value as the world's largest wooden ritual complex. "The ritual ceremonies held in front of the main shrine and the integrity of its landscape are core attributes of the site, so any act that creates a sense of intimidation in front of Jongmyo must be thoroughly prevented," Heo said.