The statue of Sunjong, the last king of the Joseon Dynasty, in Daegu, which has been controversial for distorting history and pro-Japanese beautification, will be demolished after some seven years. Critics say it wasted more than 7 billion won in taxpayers’ money and administrative power.

Jung-gu District Office in Daegu held a public review committee on April 17 and announced on the 21st that it had finally decided to remove the "Sculpture of Sunjong and His Royal Carriage.” As a result, the statue of Sunjong and the guide stone will be removed by the end of this month. It will also spend 400 million won within this year to eliminate the pedestrian refuge island in the street where the statue is located. The access road to Dalseong Park, which was reduced to two lanes while installing the sculpture in the street, will be widened to four lanes again.

Against the backdrop of the main gate of Dalseong Park, the 2.1km royal carriage road from Suchang-dong to Ingyo-dong in Jung-gu, was built by the district office as part of an urban vitality enhancement area development project from 2013 to 2017 with 7 billion won, including 3.5 billion won in government funding. It was planned to create a theme street around the area by recreating the visit of Sunjong, who visited Daegu during his southern tour of Korea in January 1909. The intention was to sublimate the ideals of saving the country and the anti-Japanese spirit hidden on the road into "dark tourism" and use it as a future-oriented historical education space.

It was also aimed to improve the underdeveloped nearby tool street and revitalize tourism. To this end, Jung-gu spent 254 million won to build a 5.5-meter-high statue of King Sunjong at the entrance to Dalseong Park, where the royal carriage road ends.

However, the project was embroiled in controversy over the pro-Japanese beautification from the start.. This is because Sunjong's trip to the southern region is a history of humiliation, as the Japanese government dragged him to Daegu and Busan to appease anti-Japanese sentiment.

At the time, Sunjong's visit to Daegu was notable because it was the first of its kind in the Joseon Dynasty. However, there is also a view that Japan's intention may have been behind the visit, as the Joseon Dynasty had been reduced to a de facto colony of Japanese imperialism. As a result, public criticism arose over the construction of the royal carriage road and installation of the statue in Daegu. The number of complaints about the statue's removal surged as the floating population increased, with more than 3,000 apartment houses built near Dalseong Park and a permanent dawn market being activated. Traffic congestion has become a problem, and residents and merchants have demanded that the royal carriage road be removed.

Kim in his 60s, who has been running a tool shop near the road for two years, said, "There was a lot of traffic congestion every weekend due to the small lane and lack of parking space, but it's nice to hear that the statue will be removed," adding, "But it's such a waste of taxes and money to remove it." As there was a risk of safety accidents and difficulties in walking for pedestrians, Jung-gu district office decided to remove the statue. Civil groups pointed out that it is the result of promoting the project, which requires historical research, without sufficient discussion with the local community.

Cho Kwang-hyun, secretary general of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice in Daegu, said, "We ended up wasting billions of won in taxpayers' money due to the removal of the statue. I think it is right not to pursue commemorative projects for people or incidents with conflicting historical evaluations."