Mayor-elect says contractor will be asked to tear down the structure — and that administrative enforcement action is also under review
Ryu Sam-young, the incoming mayor of Dongjak-gu, has called for the emergency demolition of Sinnorangjin Market, a facility that has posed a collapse risk for more than 16 years.
Ryu visited the market site — located in the Noryangjin-dong 307-9 area — on Friday morning alongside members of his transition committee, advisers and district office civil servants to assess conditions on the ground.
"Sinnorangjin Market could collapse at any moment," he said. "We need to relocate the remaining merchants first, and then tear the market down as quickly as possible — ideally before the ninth elected-term administration begins."
To that end, he said the district would ask contractor Hoban Construction to carry out the demolition. If the company does not comply, the district would proceed with the work itself and bill the contractor for the costs through administrative enforcement action, he added.
That afternoon, Ryu convened a meeting at his mayor-elect office in the Noryangjin district hall, bringing in three licensed engineers — specialists in soil and foundations, construction safety, and architectural planning — to discuss safe demolition methods and follow-up measures for the site.
Sinnorangjin Market was completed in 1968 as a mixed-use complex combining small retail shops and residential units. A detailed safety inspection in 2010 gave it an E rating — the lowest possible — and it was subsequently designated a disaster-risk facility.
A redevelopment project launched in 2015 has stalled repeatedly, and the refusal of some merchants to vacate has left the site with only temporary safety measures in place.
Four of the market's 133 shops remain open for business.
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