Lawsuit Against Construction Suspension of 'Wangneung View Apartment'... Last Remaining Construction Company Also Wins First Trial

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] All three construction companies building apartments near Gimpo Jangneung, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, without permission from the Cultural Heritage Administration chief, won their first-instance lawsuits challenging the construction suspension orders.

On the afternoon of the 19th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 4 (Presiding Judge Kim Jeongjung) ruled in favor of Daebang Construction in the first-instance lawsuit filed against the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Royal Tombs and Historic Sites Division to cancel the construction suspension order.

With this ruling, all three construction companies that filed similar lawsuits against the Cultural Heritage Administration won in the first instance. On the 8th of last month, the court’s Administrative Division 6 (Presiding Judge Lee Jooyoung) had also ruled in favor of Daekwang ENC and JS Global in similar lawsuits against the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Royal Tombs and Historic Sites Division.

The Administrative Division 6 stated in that ruling, "According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act and Gyeonggi-do Cultural Heritage Protection Ordinance, the land in question does not fall within the historical and cultural environment preservation area of Gimpo Jangneung."

Furthermore, "Even if the land in question is considered part of the historical and cultural environment preservation area of Gimpo Jangneung, under the relevant regulations, the view of the mountain from the royal tomb is not a significant consideration in the 'permitted standards for construction activities within the historical and cultural environment preservation area.' Additionally, the view of the mountain is already impaired by other buildings, making it difficult to restore, so it is hard to definitively state that the building in question infringes upon the view rights of Gimpo Jangneung."

Previously, construction companies Daekwang ENC, JS Global, and Daebang Construction had purchased residential land plots created through the Incheon Geomdan New Town Development Project, obtained project plan approvals, and were constructing apartments.

However, the Cultural Heritage Administration judged that the residential land where the apartments were being built falls within 500 meters of the outer boundary of Nationally Designated Cultural Property Historic Site No. 202, 'Gimpo Jangneung,' and thus qualifies as a historical and cultural environment preservation area.

Last year, the Cultural Heritage Administration ordered the suspension of construction on 19 out of 44 apartment buildings, totaling about 3,400 households, built by the construction companies in Geomdan New Town. However, the court accepted the companies’ requests for suspension of enforcement, allowing construction to proceed without major disruption.

The construction companies argued that the land where the apartments are being built does not fall within the historical and cultural environment preservation area, so Article 35 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act does not apply, and filed lawsuits requesting the cancellation of the Cultural Heritage Administration’s orders.

The Cultural Heritage Administration appealed the first-instance rulings last month in favor of Daekwang ENC and JS Global.

Gimpo Jangneung is the tomb of Wonjong (1580?1619), the fifth son of King Seonjo of Joseon and father of King Injo, and his wife Queen Inheon (1578?1626). It is designated as Historic Site No. 202 and is included among the 40 Joseon royal tombs registered as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.