[Anchor]
With marathon events sharply increasing in downtown Seoul recently and triggering frequent road closures, complaints from citizens over the inconvenience have been mounting. Critics point out that central government ministries have been indiscriminately approving official sponsorships for such races, and it has been confirmed that the Seoul Metropolitan Government even sent an official request asking them to curb their sponsorships.
Reporter Ha Jeongyeon reports.
[Reporter]
Yesterday (October 5), during the National Foundation Day holiday weekend, three marathon events were held in a single day across areas including Yeouido, Mapo, and Gangnam in Seoul.
Traffic across the area has faced ongoing restrictions due to marathon events drawing more than 10,000 participants.
We went out to hear directly from citizens.
[Ko Yeong-seo / Seoul Resident: Buses were operating on detoured routes, but elderly people often don't know about such changes. And because of the road closures, an entire half-block was completely taken over to be used as changing rooms for marathon runners.]
[Lee Mi-so / Seoul Resident: Not being able to move around comfortably was the most stressful part. I think it would be better to reduce the frequency of these events.]
Last year, 95 marathons were held after applying for venue permits with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, a more than fivefold surge compared to 2022. The number of events requiring police traffic control also jumped from 7 to 28.
More than 1,000 complaints were filed with the Seoul Metropolitan Government last year alone, with citizens stating that "marathon runners are not the only ones with the right to enjoy themselves" and "some people have to work on weekends."
The number of police officers deployed for downtown Seoul marathons also escalated sharply, from 306 in 2021 to 2,712 last year.
Police provide traffic control support only for marathons that carry official "sponsorship titles" from central ministries or local governments. According to data obtained by SBS, 11 of the 14 downtown Seoul marathons held in the first half of this year were sponsored by central ministries, prompting criticism that ministry-sponsored marathons are being overused.
Stating that it will discourage races in the city center, the Seoul Metropolitan Government confirmed that it sent official letters to several central government ministries asking them to review restricting sponsorships, citing recent controversies that arose during races sponsored under ministry names.
Police have also submitted opinions to the National Assembly stressing the need for a legal framework, citing concerns about security voids created by the excessive deployment of police officers.
[Jeong Jun-ho / Member of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Democratic Party): Concerns are now emerging that public inconvenience has reached a breaking point due to traffic restrictions repeated every weekend.]
Some also suggest that Korea should look into overseas examples based on the "causer-pays principle," where event organizers bear the costs of police overtime allowances resulting from traffic control.
(Video by Joo Yong-jin | Video editing by Choi Hye-ran | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jeong, Lee Ga-jin)
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