Seoul City Refutes Korean Air's 'Illegal Land Grabbing' Claim: "No Procedural Issues"

Korean Air Accused of 'Illegal Land Grabbing' in Securing Songhyeon-dong Site from Seoul City
Seoul City Issues Statement Refuting Claims, Asserting "No Procedural Violations"

Site of Korean Air Songhyeon-dong. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has rebutted Korean Air's claim, which criticized the illegality of the procedure to secure the Songhyeon-dong site and called it "preemptive occupation," stating that "there are no procedural violations." The city is currently securing the Songhyeon-dong site owned by Korean Air to promote its transformation into a cultural park.

On the 28th, Seoul City stated, "The claim by Korean Air that 'the Songhyeon-dong site is being designated as a cultural park without specific facility plans or budget secured' is not true," adding, "Seoul has already established a basic plan for the cultural park designation of the site."

Earlier that day, Korean Air issued a press release strongly criticizing Seoul City's push to designate the Songhyeon-dong site as a cultural park as a "de facto illegal preemptive occupation to block an actual sale." The company argued, "Since there is no guarantee of minimal feasibility or executability, there is a high possibility of violating the National Land Planning Act."

Seoul City refuted these claims, stating, "Based on the already established basic plan, we will create the park (Phase 1) and then proceed step-by-step with the construction of cultural facilities within the park (Phase 2), considering historical, cultural, and locational values through public discussions with citizens and experts."

Regarding funding for the park creation, the city also rebutted by stating that it was included in the district unit plan amendment and was publicly announced for inspection from June 4 to 18.

Seoul City emphasized, "We are currently carrying out the urban management plan amendment procedure in accordance with the National Land Planning and Utilization Act, and there are no procedural violations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.