Constitutional Court Upholds Current Maritime Boundary... Rules in Favor of Jeonnam Province (Yeosu City)

Yeosu City Reconfirms Current Maritime Boundary with Namhae County... Mayor Kwon Calls It a "Natural Outcome"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] After more than six years of legal disputes over maritime boundaries, Jeonnam Province and Yeosu City, and Gyeongnam Province and Namhae County, the Constitutional Court (hereinafter referred to as the Constitutional Court) ultimately ruled in favor of Jeonnam Province and Yeosu City.

On the 25th, the Constitutional Court dismissed the case filed by Gyeongnam Province and Namhae County against Jeonnam Province and Yeosu City in December 2015, which was a request for adjudication on jurisdictional disputes.

Regarding the Constitutional Court's decision, Kwon Oh-bong, Mayor of Yeosu City, said, "The expected result has come out," and added, "We welcome this together with all the fishermen of our city who have been suffering in silence."

He also stated, "Based on the current maritime boundary, we will seek ways to reconcile the conflicts with fishermen from Namhae County, Gyeongnam Province, and to coexist harmoniously."

Meanwhile, Mayor Kwon Oh-bong personally met with the presiding justice during the Constitutional Court's on-site inspection on October 18, 2019, and ahead of the public hearing on July 9 last year, he visited and encouraged fishermen holding solo protests in front of the Constitutional Court and even participated in the solo protest.

Considering work continuity, the responsible department head and staff were fixedly assigned throughout the trial period, actively responding to the trial.

The maritime boundary dispute between Jeonnam Province and Gyeongnam Province was triggered in 2011 when Gyeongnam’s gillnet fishing vessels crossed into Jeonnam waters and engaged in illegal fishing.

Although the case seemed to conclude in 2015 when the Supreme Court sentenced the owner of the Gyeongnam fishing vessel for illegal fishing beyond the boundary, the conflict continued as Gyeongnam Province filed a jurisdictional dispute request with the Constitutional Court in December of the same year, seeking a new maritime boundary line based on the equidistance median line principle.

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