Haenam-gun 'Manhohaeyeok' Loses First Trial, Hires Two Major Law Firms for 'Full-Scale Response'

Seeking Fundamental Solutions through Civil Appeal Support and Constitutional Court Jurisdiction Dispute Adjudication Request

Manho Sea Area Jurisdiction Dispute Arbitration Request Drawing (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam County, Jeollanam-do announced on the 18th that it will concentrate all its administrative capabilities on protecting fishermen's livelihoods, including supporting appeals in civil lawsuits regarding the usage rights of the Manho sea area fishing grounds.

On the 10th, the Civil Division of the Haenam Branch of the Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Jae-geun) ruled in favor of the defendant in the dispute over the usage rights of the Manho sea area fishing grounds between Haenam County Fisheries Cooperative and Jindo County Fisheries Cooperative, ordering the plaintiff (Haenam Fisheries Cooperative and fishermen) to hand over the fishing grounds to the defendant (Jindo Fisheries Cooperative) and to dismantle the seaweed farming facilities.

The Haenam County Fisheries Cooperative stated, "In the first trial, there were significant factual errors, such as the claim that new licenses were approved for Haenam as well, while in 2011 the only new license for the unlicensed sea area was for Jindo's 1,370 hectares. We deeply regret this," adding, "We will appeal the civil lawsuit to correct these issues and prepare more thoroughly to ensure that the position of Haenam fishermen is reflected."

In particular, Haenam County plans to actively support the civil lawsuit going forward and seek a fundamental resolution to the recurring disputes through a constitutional court adjudication on jurisdictional conflicts.

Haenam County has already submitted a petition for a jurisdictional dispute adjudication to the Constitutional Court on October 28 of last year, claiming that the maritime boundary with Jindo County is unfair.

The petition states that "the jurisdiction over the eastern sea area of the equidistant median line based on inhabited islands belongs to Haenam County," and recent Constitutional Court precedents (2010HunRa2, 2016HunRa8) clearly uphold the equidistant median line principle in maritime boundary determinations, suggesting a favorable position for Haenam County.

Previously, Haenam County established a dedicated TF team for the Manho sea area response within the Marine Fisheries Division of the county office and appointed the law firm Haemaru, which has experience handling multiple maritime boundary jurisdictional dispute adjudications, along with Kim & Chang, the largest domestic law firm, as legal representatives for the lawsuit.

Haenam County expects that the final decision through the civil lawsuit and the Constitutional Court's jurisdictional dispute adjudication will take a long time, but since this is a matter concerning the fishermen's livelihoods rather than accumulation of wealth, the county plans to focus its administrative capabilities and respond with full force.

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan said, "The repeated disputes and conflicts every ten years inevitably cause enormous administrative waste as well as mental and economic damage to both sides. To fundamentally resolve these issues, we will make a direct breakthrough through the Constitutional Court's final judgment."

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