Supreme Court clears way for downtown skyscraper overlooking Unesco World Heritage shrine
Published: 06 Nov. 2025, 13:21
Updated: 07 Nov. 2025, 15:28
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- KIM JU-YEON
- [email protected]
![A view of the Sewoon District 4 area in Jongno District, central Seoul, is seen on Nov. 6. The Supreme Court upheld the validity of a Seoul Metropolitan Government ordinance that eased development restrictions outside historical and cultural preservation zones without consultation with the Korea Heritage Service the same day. The ruling drew attention for its connection to the redevelopment project across from Jongmyo Shrine. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/07/d2932cf8-712f-4ede-ac46-8b90bddc79a9.jpg)
A view of the Sewoon District 4 area in Jongno District, central Seoul, is seen on Nov. 6. The Supreme Court upheld the validity of a Seoul Metropolitan Government ordinance that eased development restrictions outside historical and cultural preservation zones without consultation with the Korea Heritage Service the same day. The ruling drew attention for its connection to the redevelopment project across from Jongmyo Shrine. [YONHAP]
Korea’s top court has ruled that a Seoul city ordinance easing development restrictions around cultural heritage sites without prior consultation with the Korea Heritage Service is valid, clearing the way for a 141.9-meter (466-foot) building to potentially rise across Jongmyo Shrine, a Unesco World Heritage site.
The Supreme Court’s First Division on Thursday upheld a lower court’s decision rejecting a lawsuit filed by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism against the Seoul Metropolitan Council. The minister had sought to nullify the council’s approval of an amendment to the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Protection of Cultural Assets.
The ruling is final, as lawsuits challenging the validity of local ordinances are decided in a single Supreme Court hearing.
The Korea Heritage Service said it respected the Supreme Court’s decision.
"We will work closely with the Cultural Heritage Committee, Unesco and other relevant organizations to ensure that Jongmyo Shrine does not lose its World Heritage status due to nearby development," the agency said in a statement following the ruling.
![The Jongmyo Jerye, a royal ancestral rite honoring the kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), takes place at Jongmyo Shrine in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 4. The ceremony, held annually in May, is the largest and most significant of the Joseon royal rituals. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/07/c95ac4d4-1c4d-4fe5-875a-ef034f439b76.jpg)
The Jongmyo Jerye, a royal ancestral rite honoring the kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), takes place at Jongmyo Shrine in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 4. The ceremony, held annually in May, is the largest and most significant of the Joseon royal rituals. [YONHAP]
The dispute began in October 2023, when the Seoul Metropolitan Council voted to delete a clause in Article 19 of the ordinance that had required the city to review whether construction outside the 100-meter preservation zone would affect cultural heritage sites if it were deemed likely to do so because of the site’s characteristics or surroundings.
Under the Act on Conservation and Utilization of Cultural Heritage, city and provincial governors must consult the Korea Heritage Service before designating “historic and cultural environment preservation zones” around state-designated heritage sites. Seoul’s ordinance currently defines these zones as areas within 100 meters of a state-designated heritage site’s outer boundary.
The council had argued that the deleted clause, which restricted construction even beyond the 100-meter zone, amounted to excessive regulation. The Korea Heritage Service — then called the Cultural Heritage Administration — objected, insisting that such a change required consultation with its chief. The city went ahead and promulgated the amendment, prompting the legal battle.
After two years of litigation, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Seoul council.
The court said that “based on the text and intent of the Act on Conservation and Utilization of Cultural Heritage and its enforcement decree, the higher law cannot be interpreted as delegating the authority to regulate areas beyond preservation zones to local governments through consultation with the Korea Heritage Service.”
It added that “even if the Seoul Metropolitan Council did not consult the Korea Heritage Service when passing the ordinance, it did not violate the principle that laws take precedence over ordinances.”
The court also acknowledged that the Seoul council still had standing to bring the case, even though the previous ordinance had been repealed and replaced.
“The deleted clause remains absent in the current ordinance, and a declaration of invalidity could ultimately affect the current version,” it said.
However, it dismissed an additional request from the ministry that sought to nullify the current ordinance itself, ruling that “without a request for reconsideration from the culture minister, seeking the invalidation of a local ordinance itself is not permitted under the Local Autonomy Act.”
![Ritual officials enter Jeongjeon Hall during the Jongmyo Jerye, a royal ancestral rite at Jongmyo Shrine in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 4. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/07/be39de33-0c9c-4a25-868c-9a48df6d3d46.jpg)
Ritual officials enter Jeongjeon Hall during the Jongmyo Jerye, a royal ancestral rite at Jongmyo Shrine in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 4. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The case has drawn attention for its potential implications for the Sewoon District No. 4 redevelopment project across from Jongmyo Shrine, amid renewed public concern over “view-blocking” high-rises near royal tombs.
Critics have warned of a repeat of a similar controversy in Incheon, where high-rise buildings were found to obstruct views of royal tombs protected under heritage laws.
According to the city’s latest redevelopment plan announced last week, the maximum building height in the Sewoon District area was raised from 55 meters on the Jongno side and 71.9 meters on the side of Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs through central Seoul, to 98.7 meters and 141.9 meters, respectively.
Seoul city officials maintain that Sewoon District No. 4 lies about 180 meters from Jongmyo Shrine — outside the 100-meter preservation zone — and is therefore not subject to such restrictions.
However, the Korea Heritage Service opposed the plan, citing the ongoing litigation and warning that the skyscraper could damage the shrine’s landscape. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon countered on Wednesday that “a simulation shows the building will not cast a shadow over Jongmyo.”
Designated a redevelopment zone in 2004, Sewoon District No. 4 has been stalled for 21 years due to debates over skyline preservation and profitability. The project received approval in 2018 for buildings up to 71.9 meters after review by the Cultural Heritage Committee, but construction was delayed. Under the new plan, the site could accommodate 25- to 35-story buildings.
Jongmyo Shrine is a Confucian shrine for royal ancestors that houses the spirit tablets of Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) and Korean Empire (1897–1910) rulers and their spouses, where memorial rites are still performed. The shrine was recognized as a World Heritage site by Unesco in 1995.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JUN-YOUNG,KIM EUN-BIN,KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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