Seoul City objects to Jongmyo Shrine being designated as a World Heritage Site, citing UNESCO procedures at the National Heritage Administration.

The city of Seoul and the National Heritage Administration of South Korea are in conflict over relaxing height restrictions for the Sewoon 4th District redevelopment project in front of the Jongmyo Shrine, a World Heritage Site.
In response to Seoul City's criticism of the World Heritage Impact Assessment of the Jongmyo Shrine area as a measure with no legal or administrative basis.
The National Heritage Administration responded, "This is a procedure that should be carried out in accordance with UNESCO guidelines and laws." On the 14th, the National Heritage Administration announced that it would conduct a World Heritage Impact Assessment of the Jongmyo area based on the World Heritage Convention.
"We are conducting and reporting impact assessments in accordance with UNESCO's World Heritage Impact Assessment Guidelines," he said, adding, "We are instructing Seoul to conduct impact assessments based on these UNESCO recommendations and guidelines."
Prior to this, Seoul City released an explanatory document on the same day, stating, "In order to carry out a World Heritage Impact Assessment, it is essential that the area be designated as a World Heritage Site," and added, "The assessment
The specific scope of projects to be evaluated, evaluation items, methods, and procedures are insufficient, and there is no concrete legal or administrative basis for evaluation at all.
Furthermore, the city said, "Although a site is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a 'heritage zone + buffer zone' is to be established, the Jongmyo Shrine will remain in operation for 30 years after registration.
"Even now, after 10 years, the buffer zone has not been determined," he said, adding, "The World Heritage site approved by the Cultural Heritage Committee this time only designated the heritage area, and the buffer zone, which is an essential component of a World Heritage site, has not been determined."
In response, the National Heritage Agency said, "We will establish a special law on the conservation, management and utilization of World Heritage sites to ensure stable conservation and management of World Heritage sites within domestic law."
"The previous day's 'deliberation and resolution on the designation of the Jongmyo Shrine as a World Heritage Site' was a procedure for designating the site as a World Heritage Site under Article 10 of the law," he countered.
He also said, "When the Jongmyo Shrine was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1995, it was registered without a buffer zone in line with the historical site area."
"Adding or changing areas requires a separate UNESCO procedure after receiving an application from the local government, and the National Heritage Agency cannot arbitrarily amend the list," he emphasized.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the National Heritage Administration are at odds over relaxing height restrictions for the Sewoon 4th District redevelopment project in front of the Jongmyo Shrine.
The city announced on the 30th that the maximum building height in the Sewoon 4th District will increase from the previous 55m on the Jongno side and 71.9m on the Cheonggyecheon side to 101m on the Jongno side and 145m on the Cheonggyecheon side.
Changed.