Court: "Selection of Sky72 Golf Course Bidder is Legitimate"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] On the 29th, the court ruled in favor of Incheon International Airport Corporation in the appeal trial of the lawsuit filed by Summit, which was eliminated from the bidding for the selection of the successor operator of Sky72 Golf Course, claiming 'invalidity of the bid winner decision and confirmation of bid winner status.'

According to the corporation, on this day, the 2nd Civil Division of Incheon District Court dismissed both the principal claim to invalidate the corporation's existing bid winner decision and confirm Summit as the bid winner, and the alternative claim to confirm the invalidity of the bidding.

The corporation had promoted bidding for the selection of a successor operator in September of the same year as the land use period of Sky72 Golf Course expired at the end of 2020, selected the KMH Shilla Leisure consortium as the successor lease operator, and signed a contract in October.

Not only Summit but also Sky72, the golf course operator who has been illegally occupying the golf course site and continuing operations even after the expiration of the usage period, filed complaints to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Board of Audit and Inspection, National Assembly, and civic groups, claiming that "the corporation pre-designated the successor operator and promoted the bidding unfairly, and set a rent system favorable to the pre-designated operator, causing damage to the corporation itself." Related parties even proceeded to criminal prosecution. However, all judgments from administrative, judicial, and constitutional institutions that conducted actual investigations concluded "no problem."

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, stated, "As the legitimacy and legality of the bidding have been recognized through two factual trials, I hope that the wasteful debate based on groundless suspicions such as 'planned bidding' and 'breach of trust' will end promptly."

Meanwhile, although the contract with the corporation expired at the end of 2020, the Sky72 operator has continued operations for 1 year and 9 months relying on legal lawsuits. They lost in both the first and second trials, which are factual trials, and have filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, with the procedure ongoing.

It is known that they have been generating daily sales exceeding 300 million KRW through illegal occupation. However, the legitimate successor operator has not been able to start new operations, and the corporation has not received over 100 billion KRW in rent, which would have been used as funds for airport construction and operation. The Sky72 operator disclosed annual sales of 92.4 billion KRW last year.

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