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A famous long-established store in Eulji-ro, which the government has selected as a 'hundred-year shop', lost a lawsuit with the building owner and was eventually demolished after compulsory execution.

Citizens and regulars demanded government intervention and took collective action to normalize the store. 



Reporter Ha Jung-yeon on the sidewalk.



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Yesterday (21st) dawn in Euljiro Nogari Alley.



Enforcement agents tear off shop signs and pull out furniture.



Civil society activists fiercely protest.



Yesterday around 4:20 a.m., the Eulji OB Bear, which served as the head of the long-established stores in Euljiro Nogari Alley, was demolished after forced execution.



Eulji OB Bear filed a lawsuit against the then-proprietor of the building over the extension of the rental contract in 2018, but lost the appeal, and was forced to vacate the building.



Forced execution was attempted five times before, but each time it was blocked by regular customers, nearby merchants, and civic groups.



In January, next door CEO Man Seon-hoff purchased the building and decided to continue the business, but Eulji OB Bear claims that the conflict has resurfaced.



[Choi Soo-young / Eulji OB Bear President: There was an agreement.

After Chuseok, the words suddenly changed.

As we drive out those who have been in business here longer than the history of Nogari Alley we made before...

]



[Building owner: The Supreme Court has made a decision.

But aren't these people just occupying the house without paying the rent?]



Opened in 1980, Eulji OB Bear is a long-established store selected by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups as a '100-year-old store'.



The Seoul Metropolitan Government has designated Nogari Alley as a Seoul Future Heritage Site.



However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups take the position that there is no justification for intervening in private disputes.



A civil society group said that the government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government recognized the value as a 'store to go for more than 100 years' and said they did not know it, and said that they would take collective action to preserve it.