Illegal watchtower at Seoul's last shantytown torn down by court order

Watchtower at Guryong Village demolished by forced execution

Residents pushing for private development had built the illegal structure

Other villagers say it was driven by greed

Court officials from the Seoul Central District Court demolish a watchtower and temporary tents at the entrance of Guryong Village in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Friday. The court entered the village at around 6:30 a.m. to carry out the forced removal of the watchtower, which had been erected in November 2024. [Yonhap]

A watchtower that had become a symbol of Guryong Village — Seoul's last remaining shantytown, located in Gangnam-gu's Gaepo-dong — was torn down Friday. The structure had been illegally erected by a group of residents demanding private-led redevelopment. After a court ordered its removal and the order went unheeded, authorities ultimately carried out a forced demolition.

The Seoul Central District Court entered Guryong Village at around 6:30 a.m. Friday to begin forced-execution proceedings for the watchtower's removal. Most of the demolition work was completed by around 3 p.m. Police deployed 250 officers — including riot units and personnel from the Suseo Police Station — to support the court bailiffs carrying out the order.

Residents had erected the watchtower at the village entrance in November 2024. The structure is believed to have been put up under the leadership of a man surnamed Yoo, who chairs the Guryong Village General Integrated Residents' Autonomous Committee. Guryong Village is slated for public-led redevelopment centered on the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), and the watchtower was built by residents opposed to that plan to monitor the comings and goings of SH and Gangnam-gu district office employees.

The court had ordered Yoo to remove the structure on Aug. 12, after he was indicted on charges of violating urban development law by erecting it without a permit. When the watchtower remained standing, court bailiffs stepped in to carry out the demolition themselves.

Many residents welcomed the demolition. Lee Young-man, chairman of the Guryong Village Residents' Association, said the watchtower had nothing to do with the vast majority of villagers. "It belonged only to those pushing for private development," he said.

He added that residents widely felt the group had gone too far. "The watchtower was an inconvenience, and putting up something so unsightly — how could that give Guryong Village a good image?" he said.

Lee said most residents had accepted and cooperated with the public development plan as the only viable path forward. "Those who resented the public development went so far as to act illegally to make their case and protect their own interests," he said.

Guryong Village took shape in the lead-up to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when the Seoul Metropolitan Government launched an urban beautification drive that displaced residents from the city center. Those forced out gathered on the slopes of Guryongsan and built a shantytown that came to be known as Guryong Village. Conflict between residents and the city government over redevelopment has persisted ever since.

20ki@heraldcorp.com