Seoul Fireworks Festival Sparks Controversy Over 'Prime Spot' Resale for Hundreds of Thousands of Won

[Anchor]

Ahead of the fireworks festival taking place today (the 5th), spots across Yeouido Hangang Park are being traded for hundreds of thousands of won. People are laying down mats in "prime viewing spots" in advance and selling them for money.

Reporter Cho Min-ki investigated the scene.

[Reporter]

The grassy banks along the Han River are filled with mats.

These are preemptively claimed "prime" spots to watch the Seoul World Fireworks Festival. In most cases, no people are in sight, only notes left behind warning others not to touch the mats.

Warning signs prohibiting such spot hoarding are posted throughout Yeouido Hangang Park.

However, the lawn is packed densely with mats of unknown owners.

On secondhand trading websites, posts offering to sell these secured spots and mats have been flooding in since days ago.

Depending on the location, prices range from 160,000 won to 300,000 won for a 4-person capacity, with some individuals uploading multiple sales posts.

Citizens out for a stroll in Hangang Park expressed shock and bewilderment at the unusual sight, finding it hard to comprehend.

[Moon Myung-soo / Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul: It's a public space, so selling it privately for money doesn't make common sense.]

[Lee In-jung & Yoo Ho-yeon / Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul: Preempting a spot and reselling it for 300,000 to 400,000 won doesn't look good in reality, either.]

Even if spots are preempted and sold for money, there is practically no legal basis to regulate this.

[Mirae Hangang Headquarters Official: (We) won't collect and remove them. Because ultimately it leads to clashes, and we also have to keep avoiding clashes.]

When contacted to purchase a spot, the response received was to not worry at all.

[Secondhand Market Seller: Even they (Seoul Metropolitan Government and the police) can't touch it. They can't touch someone else's property recklessly. It would become embezzlement of lost property.]

Amid the absurd situation where spaces meant for everyone to use freely are being traded for hundreds of thousands of won, prices for paid alternatives have skyrocketed.

A 2-person menu priced at 6 million won has appeared at a restaurant with a view of the fireworks festival, and a post reselling a hotel accommodation voucher for 3.2 million won was uploaded on a secondhand trading platform.

Posts offering to rent out one's own home for hundreds of thousands of won also emerged, while conversely, an increasing number of apartment complexes are completely banning visitor vehicles to prevent outsiders from parking for free.

(Video Reported by Choi Dae-woong, Video Edited by Shin Seeun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.