Court Dismisses GWDC Termination Lawsuit for Lack of Standing and Legal Interest

[Asia Economy Reporter Youngchul Ra] In a lawsuit seeking a suspension of execution against the termination disposition of the 'Guri World Design City (GWDC) Development Project' filed by civic groups, the court dismissed the case, stating that the applicants lack standing and legal interest to pursue the lawsuit.

As a result, a green light has been given to the follow-up project of GWDC, tentatively named the 'Guri City Han River Riverside Urban Development Project.'

Guri City announced on the 13th, "The 2nd Administrative Division of Uijeongbu District Court (Presiding Judge Kyu-yeon Choi) ruled to dismiss the suspension of execution application regarding the termination disposition of the Guri World Design City (GWDC) Development Project filed by representatives of three civic groups in the Guri area."

Earlier in July, representatives of three civic groups?the Guri Future Policy Forum (led by Park Young-soon, former mayor of Guri), the GWDC Revival Citizens' Countermeasure Committee, and the Voter Citizens' Action Guri City Federation?filed an administrative lawsuit (main case - Uijeongbu District Court 2020Guhap980) seeking confirmation of the invalidity of the GWDC termination administrative disposition at Uijeongbu District Court.

The applicants argued, "Guri City published information about the termination of the GWDC development project in the July issue of 'Guri News,' a monthly newsletter similar to a neighborhood bulletin, and reported it at the Guri City Council plenary session on the 27th of the same month," claiming that "this constitutes a completed administrative disposition terminating the project," and thus filed a lawsuit seeking invalidation.

Regarding this ruling, the city stated, "The court dismissed the application to suspend execution of the GWDC development project termination disposition until the main lawsuit verdict is delivered. This is interpreted as an attempt to prevent the city from proceeding with the follow-up project, tentatively named the Guri City Han River Riverside Urban Development Project, and to force the re-promotion of the GWDC development project."

According to the city, the court ruled, "'Guri News' is merely a newsletter published monthly by Guri City, and the inclusion of any facts therein does not produce clear legal effects like an official gazette or bulletin. The report to the Guri City Council is merely a factual act between administrative agencies and cannot be considered to have the effect of a disposition; therefore, it is not subject to suspension of execution."

The court further stated, "The GWDC project began when Guri City proposed the designation of a waterfront area to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The project was terminated midway after the development agreement (DA) ended and the financial and economic feasibility analysis concluded that the project was not viable. Therefore, there is no direct interest between the applicants and the project."

Accordingly, the court concluded, "Central government ministries (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Environment) have also responded to Guri City that there are no special separate regulations for project termination. Therefore, this cannot be considered an administrative disposition subject to administrative litigation, and the application for suspension of execution is dismissed."

The court also explained the reason for dismissal, stating, "The representatives of the three civic groups filed the lawsuit as 'Guri citizens,' but the GWDC development project was proposed and pursued by 'Guri City,' not 'Guri citizens,' and was only suspended. The claims regarding job creation, economic effects, pursuit of happiness, and property rights are abstract, average, and general interests or concerns. Therefore, the representatives of the three civic groups lack standing to file such a lawsuit and have no legal interest to seek administrative litigation."

Meanwhile, An Seung-nam, mayor of Guri City, said, "Since this ruling overlaps with most of the issues in the main lawsuit, we expect similar judgments to follow soon in the main lawsuit, which will further accelerate the follow-up project of GWDC, tentatively named the 'Guri City Han River Riverside Urban Development Project.'"

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