Court Rules "GWDC Project Termination Is Merely an Administrative Procedure"… Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Invalidity

"It is difficult to consider that Guri citizens have legally protected interests infringed"

[Asia Economy Reporter La Youngcheol] The court has dismissed the 'Guri World Design City (GWDC) termination administrative disposition invalidation lawsuit' filed by representatives of three civic groups in the Guri area of Gyeonggi Province.

Prior to the main lawsuit, the Uijeongbu District Court also dismissed the 'injunction against the execution of the GWDC project termination disposition' application filed by former Guri Mayor Park Youngsoon and private business operators.

On the 2nd, Guri City stated, "The dismissal of both the injunction application against the GWDC termination disposition and the main lawsuit for invalidation confirms that the GWDC project was lawfully terminated," and disclosed the contents of the judgment.

In the judgment, the court stated, "The Guri newsletter is merely a newsletter published to inform and promote Guri City policies and activities to Guri citizens. The fact that it contains information about the project termination does not legally effectuate the termination of the project, and the report to the Guri City Council was merely a factual act between administrative agencies reporting on current issues."

It further explained, "The GWDC project was initiated by Guri City proposing the designation of a waterfront zone to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. During the process of establishing a detailed project plan, the agreement with the U.S. corporation and others was terminated, and the financial and economic feasibility analysis concluded that the project was not viable, so the waterfront zone designation was not made."

Moreover, "It was merely a procedure involving consultations between the local government and central government ministries (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Environment), and an internal administrative act that did not externally create rights, obligations, or other legal effects under the law," the court pointed out.

The court also judged, "There are no procedural regulations regarding the termination of the waterfront zone development project, and the consultation results with central ministries concluded that there are no separate regulations for ending the administrative procedures conducted with the central ministries. Therefore, it cannot be considered an administrative disposition subject to administrative litigation."

Regarding the fact that the three civic group representatives filed the lawsuit as 'Guri citizens,' the court stated, "The GWDC development project was proposed by 'Guri City,' not 'Guri citizens,' and it was merely an internal administrative suspension of the project. Therefore, it is difficult to see that the plaintiffs have individual, direct, and concrete interests protected by the Special Act on the Utilization of Waterfront Zones or related laws."

It added, "The plaintiffs' claims regarding job creation, economic effects, the pursuit of happiness, and property rights are only indirect, factual, and economic interests. Therefore, the plaintiffs do not have legally protected interests infringed by the project's termination," explaining the reason for dismissal.

Guri Mayor Ahn Seungnam commented on the court ruling, saying, "The so-called Guri Han River Riverside Urban Development Project, which is being promoted as a follow-up project, can gain more momentum and accelerate. We will do our best to make Guri City a standard for cutting-edge Korean-style smart cities."

Earlier, Guri City judged the GWDC project to be unfeasible through a financial and economic feasibility analysis by an accounting firm, terminated the GWDC project in July last year, and is currently promoting the follow-up project called the 'Guri Han River Riverside Urban Development Project.'

In response, three civic group representatives, including the Guri Future Policy Forum led by the former Guri mayor, the GWDC Revival Countermeasure Committee, and the Voter Citizen Action Guri City Federation, filed a lawsuit at the Uijeongbu District Court in July last year, claiming that "Guri City's monthly newsletter containing information about the termination of the GWDC development project and the report to the Guri City Council constitute the completion of the administrative disposition terminating the GWDC development project," seeking invalidation of the GWDC termination administrative disposition.

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