The city of Seoul has decided not to allow the Seoul Queer Culture Festival to be held at Seoul Plaza this year. 

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday, the citizen committee on plaza operations made the decision after reviewing two requests to use the plaza on June 30 and July 1. 

While turning down the request by the organizers of the culture festival, the committee approved a request submitted by the Christian Television System(CTS) Culture Foundation, which plans to host a concert for teens. 

The Seoul Queer Culture Festival’s organizers and the CTS Culture Foundation had simultaneously submitted requests on April 3, or 90 days before the date they sought to host their respective events. 

With such a decision, the Seoul Queer Culture Festival will not be taking place at Seoul Plaza for the first time since its inaugural event in 2015. The event was held at the plaza every year, except in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city government said the citizen committee is tasked with making a decision when organizations submit requests for use of the plaza on the same day.

According to the Seoul government, the citizen committee decided to approve the request by the CTS Culture Foundation as the event was catered towards children and teens.