Finds made Sept. 1, 6 and Sunday; civic group urges halt to 150-billion-won relocation

Twenty objects presumed to be buried cultural heritage were found Sunday at a section of the new Gangwon Province headquarters construction site in Goeun-ri that had not undergone detailed excavation surveys. Pictured is an object believed to be a fragment of the base of an earthenware vessel.
Twenty objects presumed to be buried cultural heritage were found Sunday at a section of the new Gangwon Province headquarters construction site in Goeun-ri that had not undergone detailed excavation surveys. Pictured is an object believed to be a fragment of the base of an earthenware vessel.
Objects presumed to be buried cultural heritage found at the Gangwon Province new headquarters construction site in Goeun-ri, Chuncheon
Objects presumed to be buried cultural heritage found at the Gangwon Province new headquarters construction site in Goeun-ri, Chuncheon

A civic group said Wednesday that 20 more objects presumed to be buried cultural heritage were found Sunday at the construction site for the new Gangwon Province headquarters in Goeun-ri, Chuncheon, bringing the total number of such objects discovered at the site since September to 165.

The finds on Sunday — the 12th day since construction was halted — came from two test trenches used to check for artifacts before full construction begins: 14 objects from Trench 46 and six from Trench 48.

Trench 46 yielded four objects presumed to be roof tiles and 10 presumed to be earthenware or ceramic ware, while Trench 48 produced two presumed roof tile fragments and four presumed ceramic pieces.

Both trenches had previously been assessed as areas with no artifact or heritage distribution and were therefore excluded from detailed excavation surveys.

The long rectangular area marks the access road construction site at Goeun-ri; the large square marks the planned site of the new headquarters main building. Red dots indicate locations where presumed artifacts were found.
The long rectangular area marks the access road construction site at Goeun-ri; the large square marks the planned site of the new headquarters main building. Red dots indicate locations where presumed artifacts were found.

Forty-eight objects had also been found near Trench 46 on Sept. 6. The civic group said the repeated discovery of presumed buried heritage in areas excluded from detailed excavation warrants a review of whether the original sampling survey results and the decision to exclude those areas were appropriate.

The group asked the Cultural Heritage Administration to have its own experts conduct a direct on-site inspection, review the original sampling survey and the decision to exclude certain areas from detailed excavation, and examine the need for additional trial and detailed excavation surveys.

Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho addressed the issue at a press briefing on Sept. 7 — six days after construction was halted — saying he would "judge after seeing the results of whether what was found at the Goeun-ri site is actually an artifact and whether it has value," adding that he would "take measures after obtaining an assessment from a specialized institution."

The following day, Gangwon Province announced that its organizational restructuring set to take effect in January would rename the existing "Headquarters Relocation Promotion Division" to the "Public Building Architecture Division," dropping the word "relocation" from the department's name.

The civic group said the discovery of 165 presumed artifacts, the construction halt and the continued finds were increasing the likelihood of a longer project timeline and higher costs.

Members of the civic group rally in front of the Gangwon Province government building on Tuesday.
Members of the civic group rally in front of the Gangwon Province government building on Tuesday.

At Tuesday's rally in front of the Gangwon Province government building, the group said that according to the province's official statements on construction costs over the past three years, the building cost for the new headquarters stands at a minimum of 300 billion won ($223 million), rising to around 350 billion won when moving and demolition expenses are included. Building at the Goeun-ri site, where presumed artifacts continue to surface, has been disclosed to cost 500 billion won. "Gangwon Province must explain to its residents what objective reason there is to spend an additional 150 billion won to relocate to Goeun-ri," the group said.


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