티스토리 뷰
At the scene of a fire in a food alley in Majang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, merchants and service workers of the competent district office confronted each other over the installation of a safety fence early on the 26th. It turned into a physical fight Although it has ended, the confrontation between the two sides is expected to continue for the time being due to differences in positions between merchants and district offices.
The clash between merchants and district office service workers began at 10 p.m. on the 25th, the previous day. Merchants clashed over their own fences around the fire. Dozens of service workers demolished the fence and the district office set up a safety fence instead.
Merchants had previously set up their own fences at their own expense for the safety of residents on the 24th. When the district office service staff mobilized excavators to work, merchants shouted loudly and blocked the service staff with their bodies. Although there was once a physical clash, the two sides refrained from physical fights and continued the confrontation for a while. In the collision between the two sides, the situation ended around 2 a.m. when the fence installed by the merchants remained the same and the safety fence on the ward office was added next to it.
There are conflicting positions between merchants and ward offices over the installation of safety fences. Merchants are in a position that the district office has already understood as they have been installed for safety. However, he claims that he suddenly changed his position, saying that he would remove the fence.
On the other hand, the district office explained that it was a misunderstanding as it tried to install a safety fence separately from the fence installed by merchants. An official from the district office said, "We are not trying to remove the existing fence, but to install a safety fence to ban access," adding, "As it is an unauthorized building, merchants seem to have protested for fear of being kicked out."
However, there is a possibility of another collision due to differences in positions on the fence. Merchants are unhappy with the ward office fence outside their fences. For now, the government intends to observe the process of negotiations with the district office. In addition, there were injured merchants in the process of confronting service workers, which deepened the emotional goal.
The conflict between the two sides has intensified because it is linked to the issue of maintaining food alleys. This alley was created in the process of moving unauthorized buildings near the northern gate of the livestock market while organizing the area of the cattle slaughterhouse in Majang-dong during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. However, nearby residents have filed complaints about the demolition of food alley buildings. This is because stores are unauthorized buildings that have been built on state-owned land, including sites owned by Seoul.
With the fire, residents' demand for demolition has intensified. Since resolving the fire incident, the district office has been holding countermeasures meetings with alley merchants until recently over the operation of the store. Although it is an unauthorized building built on state-owned land, merchants say they cannot leave the building as it has been built for more than 40 years.