Govt. to cover costs of preserving cultural property at construction sites

Cultural artifacts are relocated to make way for construction. (Cultural Heritage Administration)

Starting next year, the Cultural Heritage Administration will cover the costs of preserving buried cultural property found during construction projects, according to a revised bill that passed the National Assembly on Thursday.

Until now, the CHA has managed such buried cultural properties under certain conditions, such as when a construction project has had to be completely called off due to the discovery of important pieces of cultural heritage.

In that case, the government and local authorities would buy the land where buried cultural properties were excavated. But when building companies could continue construction by either relocating artifacts or enforcing measures to preserve them, they had to finance the costs of such processes themselves.

Thursday’s law revision will see this burden shift to the government, which will finance the cost of relocating buried cultural property and preserving it by setting up signboards, moving and storing soil and planting trees to protect the cultural artifacts.

Once the revised bill takes effect in six months, the CHA will designate a target project for support and begin budgeting.

The law change is designed to step up preservation efforts, the CHA said in a statement, adding plans to announce details of benefits for builders will be out soon.

On Thursday, the National Assembly also passed a separate bill that intends to shorten a 100-day review process that builders must undergo before breaking ground to avoid inadvertently damaging cultural artifacts. Starting next year, builders will save up to 40 days in this process, according to the new law.

By Choi Si-young(siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)