Construction at the new Gangwon Provincial Office site has been fully suspended for a week
Halt expected to continue pending expert assessment of discovered objects
Governor says work was on access road, not the office building itself
Civic group disputes claim, says objects were found on the office site
Chuncheon court reviewing legality of construction injunction request
Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho broke his silence Monday, one week after all construction at the new provincial office site in Goeun-ri, Chuncheon was halted following the discovery of objects believed to be cultural artifacts.
Asked by reporters about his plans in the wake of the full construction stoppage, Woo said he would "have a specialist institution assess the objects and act accordingly." He added that he would "look at the results and decide" whether the items found at the Goeun-ri site are genuine artifacts of cultural value.
The complete suspension of construction on the new Gangwon Provincial Office building in Goeun-ri is expected to continue for now, at least until the specialist assessment is complete.
At the press briefing, Woo said the work underway at the time was on an access road, not the office building itself. "In other words, the relocation of the provincial office is not being pursued," he said.
However, the Chuncheon Jungdo Prehistoric Site Preservation Committee — the civic group that reported the discovery — disputed that account, saying the 97 objects found were located on the site designated for the provincial office building, not on an access road.
Separately, the Chuncheon District Court is reviewing whether the construction project violates the law, following the civic group's application for a provisional injunction to halt work. A ruling on whether to grant the injunction is expected sometime in September.
Woo also said that while artifacts can be handled under the law — moved and stored — the situation would become far more complicated if the site turns out to contain the remains of a temple or palace complex.
He added that he would provide further comment after reviewing the assessment results and any additional excavation findings.
The Chuncheon Jungdo Prehistoric Site Preservation Committee reported 97 objects believed to be buried cultural heritage to Chuncheon city authorities on Tuesday after discovering them at the planned relocation site for the new provincial office. The city ordered a halt to construction and notified Gangwon Province and the Cultural Heritage Administration.
On Thursday, the group filed a request through the government's public petition portal asking for an open briefing and on-site inspection related to the buried heritage at the new Gangwon Provincial Office site, calling on the relevant authorities to open the site so that citizens could verify the situation firsthand.
Of the 97 objects initially found, 67 were discovered on land that had reportedly already been excavated and backfilled, while the remaining 30 came from areas that had not yet been excavated. Dozens more objects are said to have since been found at other parts of the new office site.
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