Jeonnam Provincial Council Strongly Urges Maintaining Current Maritime Boundary Between Jeonnam and Gyeongnam

The Jeonnam Provincial Council urged the Constitutional Court to maintain the current maritime boundary in the jurisdictional dispute over the maritime boundary between Jeonnam and Gyeongnam. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Council

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeonnam Provincial Council urged the Constitutional Court on the 13th to maintain the current maritime boundary in the jurisdictional dispute between Jeonnam and Gyeongnam.

Jeonnam and Gyeongnam have been in conflict over the maritime boundary since June 11, 2015, when Gyeongnam, despite a Supreme Court ruling against illegal fishing, filed a jurisdictional dispute petition with the Constitutional Court on December 24 of the same year, intensifying tensions between the two regions.

Choi Seon-guk, spokesperson for the Jeonnam Provincial Council, stated in a press release that “The Constitutional Court’s final jurisdictional dispute ruling regarding the maritime boundary between Jeonnam and Gyeongnam should recognize the current maritime boundary line.”

He particularly warned, “If the current maritime boundary line is changed without any special reason and simply determined as an equidistant median line as Gyeongsangnam-do claims, it would be a devastating situation for the fishermen in Jeonnam who have made this area their livelihood. If all cities, provinces, and counties in South Korea request jurisdictional dispute rulings to simply establish boundaries as equidistant median lines, it will cause enormous confusion.”

He added, “We request the Constitutional Court’s wise judgment so that this jurisdictional dispute ruling can serve as an opportunity to reaffirm that the current maritime boundary is the provincial boundary. We urge Gyeongnam to stop its groundless claims and for both regions to coexist, allowing fishermen who rely on the sea to work peacefully in their livelihoods by withdrawing the petition.”

He also called on the central government to promptly establish legal grounds specifying that the maritime boundary lines on the national basic map are boundaries between local governments, to prevent unnecessary confusion in exercising maritime autonomy by local governments.

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