First Appellate Hearing on Namsan Gondola Project Cancellation: Seoul City Argues "Lifting Urban Natural Park Zone Is Discretionary"

Seoul City: "Lifting of Designation Possible Even Without Explicit Provisions if Purpose Achieved"
Cable Car Operator Counters: "Denial of Binding Force of Legal Regulation"

During the first appellate trial of the administrative lawsuit surrounding the Namsan Gondola project, the Seoul Metropolitan Government argued that "lifting the Urban Natural Park Zone designation is a discretionary act." However, the plaintiff, the operator of the Namsan Cable Car, countered that this amounts to "denying the binding force of a legal regulation."

Namsan Gondola Perspective View. Photo by Yonhap News

At the first hearing of the appellate trial held in the afternoon of May 7 before the 7th Administrative Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kwon Soon-hyung), both sides presented their arguments in the lawsuit filed by Korea Cable Car Industry and other Namsan Cable Car operators against the Seoul Metropolitan Government, seeking to overturn the city's urban management plan decision.

During the hearing, the attorney for the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "The Urban Natural Park Zone is a designated use district for a specific purpose under the National Land Planning Act," and argued, "If the purpose of the designation has been achieved, it can naturally be lifted even in the absence of explicit provisions."

The attorney further emphasized that, in this case, changing the Urban Natural Park Zone to a neighborhood park is predicated on the achievement of the original purpose of the Urban Natural Park Zone. The relevant article in the enforcement decree, the attorney argued, is not a binding regulation that strictly limits the conditions for lifting the designation, but rather a reference guideline for the exercise of discretion.

The plaintiff's attorney, however, rebutted that the Seoul Metropolitan Government's argument lacked consistency. The plaintiff's side stated, "In the first trial, the Seoul Metropolitan Government argued that the enforcement decree did not apply at all when changing the Urban Natural Park Zone to a facility zone," and added, "Now, they have abruptly changed their stance, claiming that the provision is merely a reference or discretionary guideline." The attorney further asserted, "This article is clearly a legal regulation under the enforcement decree. The argument denying the binding force of a legal regulation also contradicts established case law."

Previously, in December of last year, the court of first instance ruled that the Seoul Metropolitan Government's urban management plan decision, which changed part of the Namsan Urban Natural Park Zone to a neighborhood park to allow for the installation of the Namsan Gondola, was unlawful and ordered its cancellation. The reasoning was that lifting the Urban Natural Park Zone designation is only possible in areas where green spaces have been significantly damaged, resulting in a substantial loss of natural environment conservation function, or where areas have lost their function as leisure and recreation spaces.

This case arose after the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to construct the Namsan Gondola in June 2023. Subsequently, in August 2024, the city changed the land use zone of the proposed gondola pillar site to a neighborhood park and commenced construction. In response, Korea Cable Car Industry and others filed for cancellation of the city's decision, claiming it was unlawful, and also applied for a stay of execution, which the court granted. Construction has since been halted and remains suspended as of the article's publication date.

The court indicated that it plans to conduct one more round of written arguments before concluding the hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for July 9 at 10:40 a.m.

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