Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Gwanghwamun Square Restructuring Project as Invalid

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The civic group Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) filed a lawsuit requesting the cancellation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Gwanghwamun Square restructuring project, but the court did not accept it.

The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 7 (Chief Presiding Judge Kim Gukhyeon) on the afternoon of the 10th dismissed the lawsuit filed by CCEJ and two Seoul citizens against the Mayor of Seoul, seeking to nullify the urban management plan. A dismissal is a decision made without examining the merits when the lawsuit does not meet procedural requirements.

Earlier, in September last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced a plan to remove the road on the west side of Gwanghwamun Square to incorporate it into the square and expand the road on the east side, and began full-scale construction in November of the same year. In response, CCEJ and two Seoul residents filed a lawsuit in December last year, claiming that the Gwanghwamun Square restructuring project did not properly follow various legally mandated procedures and that their constitutional freedom was infringed as they could no longer use Gwanghwamun Square, requesting the cancellation of the construction.

The Gwanghwamun Square restructuring project, initiated during former Mayor Park Won-soon's administration, has been controversial regarding its continuation. However, Mayor Oh Se-hoon decided in April to continue the construction by supplementing and developing the existing plan, stating that "34% of the work has already been completed, and a massive budget of 25 billion won has been invested."

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