Korean Air Submits Petition to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport... "Request to Activate Authority for Guidance and Advice on Songhyeon-dong Site"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Korean Air submitted a petition to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on the 27th, requesting the minister to exercise guidance and advisory authority regarding the Songhyeon-dong site, which is currently in conflict with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

In the petition, Korean Air requested, "We ask MOLIT to guide and recommend that Seoul City comply with the procedures within a period acceptable to Korean Air, as mediated by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and if compliance is impossible, to withdraw the park development plan and guide and recommend that Korean Air be allowed to sell the site to private parties."

Previously, the agreement ceremony for the sale of the Songhyeon-dong site, scheduled to be held under the auspices of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on the 26th, was postponed after Seoul City suddenly changed its position. Just before the ceremony, Seoul City proposed a new stance to replace the contract timing with the phrase "make efforts to conclude the contract as soon as possible" instead of fixing the contract date.

On the other hand, Korean Air urgently needs to secure liquidity through the sale of the Songhyeon-dong site to fulfill its self-rescue plan by next year. Korean Air appealed, "Considering the desperate situation where employees are sharing the pain and doing their best to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, we hope MOLIT will provide the right direction."

Land owned by Korean Air in Songhyeon-dong / Photo by Asia Economy

According to Article 166 of the Local Autonomy Act, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has the authority to guide local governments. Korean Air explained that the background of submitting this petition is to ask MOLIT to advise so that the exercise of private property rights and administrative authority can be balanced and reasonable.

Earlier this year, conflict between Korean Air and Seoul City began after Seoul announced plans to convert the Songhyeon-dong land into a park. Korean Air, struggling due to COVID-19, had planned to sell the Songhyeon-dong site as part of its self-rescue plan submitted to creditors, but the sale was canceled following Seoul City's park development announcement.

In response, Korean Air filed a grievance complaint with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in June. Through the commission's mediation efforts, an agreement was reached on a mediation plan where Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) would purchase the Songhyeon-dong site and exchange it with Seoul City, but the agreement ceremony was canceled due to Seoul City's change of position.

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