Visitors enjoy the special night tour at Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul in September, 2022. Courtesy of the Korea Heritage Service

Visits to Changgyeonggung Palace will be restricted on April 4, the sentencing date for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment case. Major palaces, cultural properties, and museums will also be closed.

The Korea Heritage Service’s Royal Palaces and Tombs Center said on April 2, “The special night tour of Changgyeonggung Palace will not be available and Hamyangmun Gate connecting Changgyeonggung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace will also be closed on April 4, the sentencing date for President Yoon’s impeachment case.”

According to the current regulations on tours of royal palaces and tombs, if there are reasons that may affect the health and safety of visitors, the sites can be closed to the public for a certain period of time.

Although Changgyeonggung Palace is far from the Constitutional Court, where the ruling will be announced, the decision to close it was made in response to the possibility of large crowds centered around Anguk Station on the day of the sentencing.

“The decision was made to prevent safety accidents of visitors, as a large-scale rally is expected on that day,” said an official from the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, adding, ”Depending on situations, tours of palaces and tombs may be canceled without prior notice.”

Major royal palaces and cultural facilities will be closed on the 4th. Visits to Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, and Deoksugung Palaces will be restricted. The decision to extend the closure will be made based on the situation before and after the sentencing. Cultural events scheduled to take place at the palaces have also been canceled or postponed.

“The changing of the guards ceremony that takes place at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the special night tour of Changdeokgung Palace, and the tour of Seokjojeon at Deoksugung Palace stone on the 4th will be canceled,” the Korea Heritage Service said on social media.

The "Korean Sauce Making Event,” which was scheduled to be held at Gyeongbokgung Palace on the afternoon of the 4th, will also be changed.

Major museums and art galleries around the Constitutional Court and Gwanghwamun will be closed. The Seoul branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, the National Folk Museum of Korea, the National Palace Museum of Korea, and Cheong Wa Dae will all be closed on that day.

The Seoul Museum of Craft Art said that it would be closed for one day on the 4th, but later said that it would be closed for three days from the 2nd to the 4th. The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts has also decided to close some of its facilities, including its art galleries and exhibition spaces. An official from the Sejong Center said, "On the sentencing day, the Sejong Art Museum and free exhibition spaces, including the Sejong Story and the Story of Admiral Yi Sun-shin will be closed.”

The Sejong Story and the Story of Admiral Yi Sun-shin are permanent exhibition spaces located in the basement of the statue of King Sejong the Great in Gwanghwamun Square. At the Sejong Story, exhibitions such as “K_Letters, Hangul Folk Painting, Embracing Hangul" are being held, and at the Sejong Art Museum, exhibitions such as “Miumwanbo, Strolling through a Traditional Garden” are being held.