Constitutional Court Dismisses Jurisdiction Dispute on Saemangeum 1 and 2 Embankments

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Constitutional Court has dismissed the jurisdictional dispute trial regarding the administrative jurisdiction over Saemangeum No. 1 and No. 2 dikes filed by Gunsan City.

On the 24th, the Constitutional Court decided to dismiss the jurisdictional dispute trial requested by Gunsan City, Jeonbuk, which claimed that its autonomy was infringed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Minister's decision on the administrative jurisdiction over Saemangeum No. 1 and No. 2 dikes, with a 7 to 2 vote.

The administrative jurisdiction over Saemangeum No. 1 and No. 2 dikes was determined by the Central Dispute Mediation Committee for Local Governments on October 26, 2015, assigning the No. 1 dike (4.7 km) to Buan-gun and the No. 2 dike (9.9 km) to Gimje-si. However, Gunsan City, dissatisfied with this decision, filed a jurisdictional dispute trial with the Constitutional Court in January 2016, leading to ongoing conflict.

The Constitutional Court explained the reason for dismissal by stating that it is difficult to see that the autonomy of existing local governments is infringed or at risk of being infringed regarding the newly formed reclaimed land. The court stated in its ruling, "It cannot be considered that the local government with jurisdiction over the public waters before reclamation holds any authority over the newly formed reclaimed land afterward, so it is difficult to see that the autonomy of existing local governments is infringed or at risk of being infringed regarding the newly formed reclaimed land."

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court's decision is expected to influence the Supreme Court lawsuit concerning Saemangeum No. 1 and No. 2 dikes, with the final judgment to be made through the Supreme Court ruling.

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