A third court order has been thwarted to relocate some vendors who are refusing to move out of the old building of the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in southern Seoul. 

With a court enforcement officer present, hundreds of officials from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives attempted to execute the court order telling the resisting merchants to move into a new location on Thursday morning. 

However, around four hundred merchants and members from an alliance of street vendors blocked the entrance of the old market and the tussle continued for about an hour until 10:20 a.m. 

The federation, the market’s proprietor, has now won three court orders to enforce the relocation of merchants who have resisted moving into a new location. The Seoul Central District Court granted the orders after the Supreme Court upheld the cooperative’s push for the relocation.

The move is part of a modernization project aimed at demolishing the 48-year-old market and renovating the area. The federation launched a government-funded plan in 2004 to overhaul the facility. The renovated market, located on the same premises, opened in March 2016. 

While the majority of existing merchants and wholesalers have agreed to the relocation and moved into the new building, some vendors still refuse to relocate, primarily because of unsatisfactory compensation and higher rent.