Yongin Light Rail to Undergo Supreme Court Review Again... Yongin City Also Files "Reconsideration"

"An Important Lesson for Future Local Government Projects"

The residents' lawsuit against the 'Yongin Light Rail Transit,' which suffered massive losses due to demand forecast failure, will once again receive a final judgment from the Supreme Court.

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 7th that it has filed a notice of appeal to request a retrial by the Supreme Court regarding the Seoul High Court's ruling on the Yongin Light Rail Transit residents' lawsuit on the 14th of last month.

Earlier, the plaintiffs of the lawsuit, the Yongin Light Rail Transit residents' lawsuit group, and the Korea Transport Institute had already submitted a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court on the 29th of last month. They intend to re-examine through a higher court whether the scope of responsibility of the former mayor and others, as well as the amount of damages, are appropriate.

A city official explained, "Considering that the plaintiffs, the residents' lawsuit group, and the Korea Transport Institute and its researchers as auxiliary defendants have already submitted notices of appeal, and after comprehensive legal consultations with the city's litigation representatives and legal advisors, we decided to re-appeal to receive the Supreme Court's final judgment."

The first and second trial rulings of the light rail residents' lawsuit recognized responsibility only for some former mayors and others, stating that other claimants could not be subjects of the lawsuit. However, the Supreme Court found that additional judgment on the responsibility of the former mayor and others was necessary and remanded the case to the High Court.

Accordingly, the Seoul High Court recognized negligence regarding 'excessive demand forecasting' and gross negligence concerning the 'execution of the implementation agreement,' ruling partially in favor of the plaintiffs by ordering former Yongin Mayor Lee Jung-moon, the Korea Transport Institute, and its affiliated researchers to pay damages of approximately 21.4 billion KRW to the city.

A city official stated, "Since this lawsuit can leave an important lesson for local governments regarding projects such as the light rail issue, it is the unanimous opinion of legal advisors that appealing to the Supreme Court to receive a final judgment and establish a precedent is the right course of action."

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