Seoul relaxed height limits near the Jongmyo UNESCO shrine; the national Heritage Service ordered a halt to plan revisions before an impact assessment, but Jongno's outgoing district head approved the revised plan on June 18, 2026 anyway
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In October 2025 the Seoul Metropolitan Government raised allowable building heights along Jongno from 55 to 98.7 meters, and along Cheonggye Stream from 71.9 to 141.9 meters, enabling a planned 142-meter tower in the Sewoon District 4 redevelopment opposite Jongmyo Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Korea Heritage Service ordered, in May 2026 (the Korea Times of June 12 says 'last month'), that the implementation plan not be revised until a Heritage Impact Assessment is complete, warning taller buildings could damage the historic skyline. A separate June 4 directive from the Interior Ministry urged local governments to hold off on major licensing decisions until new local leaders took office. On June 5 Seoul's architectural committee approved the project's building safety impact assessment. After the June 3 local elections, the incoming Jongno district head, Yoo Chan-jong of the Democratic Party, said he wants approvals suspended until he takes office. Later reports say the outgoing Jongno district head nonetheless approved the amended implementation plan on June 18, 2026 (published in the district gazette the next day); a review of buried cultural heritage by the national heritage committee is the remaining administrative step, and the heritage authority has asked for the approval to be cancelled.
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