Delays in mosque construction outrage Muslim students in South Korean city

DAEGU, South Korea (MNTV) — A long-running conflict between Muslims and other residents in South Korea’s Daegu city has flared up again after local authorities delayed a decision on whether construction of a mosque could resume, drawing a strong backlash from Muslim international students and civic groups, reports Korea JoonAng Daily.

The Daehyeon-dong mosque, construction of which has been halted for the past two years, was again thrown into uncertainty after the Buk District Office recently convened a building committee and called for a “re-review” of whether construction should resume.

The district office said it needs to further examine safety issues before making a decision, but Muslim international students and civic groups have strongly protested.

The Buk District Office committee met on Wednesday and decided on a “re-review” for the Daehyeon-dong mosque. Committee decisions are categorized as approval, conditional approval, re-review or rejection. The review was held after the mosque’s developer applied to change details in the construction permit.

After being abandoned for more than a year, the structures have started to sag, according to reports from the meeting, attended by eight people, including the district’s head of architecture and professors specializing in structural engineering and architecture.

Based on the findings, members decided that before construction resumes, the project should undergo measurement-based monitoring to observe changes such as structural modifications, after which the resumption of construction would be reconsidered.

The committee also demanded that the developer submit measures agreed with the complainants regarding reported damage, including damage to nearby walls caused during construction.

Five years in the making

The controversy surrounding the Daehyeon-dong mosque dates back about five years, to September 2020, when the project was first put forward.

After developers changed the zoning of four adjacent plots in the area to allow religious assembly facilities and began building a two-story mosque with a total floor area of 245.14 square meters (2,639 square feet), nearby residents strongly objected. 

The construction of the mosque was halted in December 2023 after authorities found that it had been built differently from the approved designs.

At the time, the Buk District Office said it had discovered that a significant number of stud bolts had been omitted from the upper steel beams of the second floor before concrete was poured, contrary to the design plans, and had issued a corrective order. 

When the construction company failed to take action by the deadline, the district office ordered construction to stop and filed a criminal complaint against the firm for suspected violation of the Building Act.

Residents argued that if a mosque were built, students living in nearby one-room apartments around Kyungpook National University would move out and that noise-related damage would be inevitable.

Some residents later sparked further controversy by placing pig heads near the construction site or holding pork barbecues. Others blocked workers from entering the site.

Some residents were referred to prosecutors in September 2022 for such actions, though those accused of obstructing business or placing pig heads at the site were later cleared of wrongdoing.

After the district office’s re-review decision effectively stalled construction once again, Muslim international students and civic groups voiced strong opposition.

A coalition of local civic groups issued a statement on Dec. 24 criticizing the decision, saying the committee’s ruling was “effectively meant to block the mosque’s construction” and was a “cruel act that stabbed the hearts of Muslim international students who have stood defenseless for the past five years before the blade of hatred.”