A construction company that built apartments near Gimpo Jangneung, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, won an appellate court ruling again, overturning the authorities' order to halt construction as unjust.
On the 7th, the Administrative Division 9-1 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Mu-shin, Kim Seung-joo, Jo Chan-young) ruled in favor of the construction company Daekwang ENC in the appeal lawsuit against the Cultural Heritage Administration's head of the Royal Tombs and Relics Headquarters, canceling the order to stop construction, consistent with the first trial.
Previously, Daebang Construction, JS Global, and Daekwang ENC purchased residential land plots created through the Incheon Geomdan New Town Development Project, obtained project plan approval, and built apartments. However, the Cultural Heritage Administration judged that the residential land where the apartments were being built fell within 500 meters of the outer boundary of Nationally Designated Cultural Heritage Site No. 202, 'Gimpo Jangneung,' and thus qualified as a historical and cultural environment preservation area. 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 Site No. 202 and one of the 40 Joseon royal tombs registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
In this case, according to Article 35 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, buildings exceeding 20 meters in height require permission from the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration. The construction companies did not obtain such permission, so an order to halt construction was issued for land within 500 meters of the outer boundary of Gimpo Jangneung and buildings exceeding 20 meters in height above ground. Among the 44 apartment buildings with about 3,400 households, 19 buildings were subject to the order. The construction companies filed a lawsuit requesting cancellation of the Cultural Heritage Administration's order, arguing that the land where the apartments were being built did not qualify as a historical and cultural environment preservation area, and thus Article 35 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act did not apply. Along with the cancellation lawsuit, the construction companies' request for suspension of execution was accepted by the court, allowing construction to continue, and currently, move-in has been completed.
Meanwhile, Daebang Construction also won the appeal lawsuit to cancel the construction halt order last month. JS Global, which filed a similar lawsuit and won in the first trial, is scheduled for an appellate court ruling on the 22nd.
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