Hwang Cheol-gyu says Seongdong-gu was 'deeply involved' in project from start, urges city not to ignore harm to more than 1,000 union members
Seoul Metropolitan Council member Hwang Cheol-gyu, a two-term People Power Party lawmaker representing Seongdong-gu District 4, called for a full audit by the Seoul Metropolitan Government's audit committee over the controversy surrounding the "Agissi-dang" shrine at the center of the Haengdang 7 zone redevelopment project.
Speaking during a five-minute floor address at the 339th extraordinary session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council on Thursday, Hwang criticized the handling of the shrine. He said the union had paid 2.5 billion won in negotiation fees and 4.8 billion won in relocation and construction costs for what he described as an illegal structure appraised at only about 30 million won ($21,700) — bringing the total burden on union members to roughly 7 billion won.
He said the Seoul audit committee had excluded the Agissi-dang matter from its review on the grounds that it was a private arrangement between the shrine and Seongdong-gu, adding that he could not accept that reasoning.
According to Hwang, Seongdong-gu convened a heritage preservation meeting in 2008 and decided that ownership of the shrine would transfer to the district after relocation, while operating rights would remain with the shrine's custodian — a decision that was then conveyed to the union.
"This is clear evidence that Seongdong-gu directly intervened in the Agissi-dang matter," Hwang said.
He argued that union members were subsequently harmed when Seongdong-gu reversed course and declared it could not accept the shrine as a donated asset.
"More than 1,000 union members are suffering serious losses from delays in apartment completion and ownership transfers, yet Seongdong-gu and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have in effect washed their hands of the matter," he said.
He said documents exist showing that Seongdong-gu was deeply involved throughout the project — including in the project implementation authorization and building permit stages. He urged the Seoul audit committee to conduct a comprehensive review of the entire process to prevent further unjust harm to union members.
Hwang, a senior council figure who served as budget committee chairman during the second half of the 11th Seoul Metropolitan Council, said he was determined to see the Haengdang 7 zone Agissi-dang issue resolved.
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