The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated on September 11 that it "respects the court's decision and will closely review the written judgment before determining its future course of action" regarding the first trial ruling on the lawsuit seeking the cancellation of the basic plan for the Saemangeum International Airport development project.
On this day, the 7th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by 1,297 citizens belonging to the Saemangeum New Airport Cancellation Joint Action against the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, seeking the cancellation of the basic plan for the Saemangeum International Airport development project.
The court found that the ministry failed to compare and examine the risk of bird strikes when selecting the site during the feasibility stage of the Saemangeum International Airport plan, and intentionally downplayed the level of risk. For these reasons, the court stated, "The basic plan in this case lacks the legitimacy and objectivity required for a proper balancing of interests, and the ministry has abused its discretion in planning. Therefore, the plan is unlawful and must be canceled."
The Saemangeum International Airport project aims to complete construction by 2028, building a runway, apron, passenger terminal, and cargo terminal on a 3.4 million square meter site in the Saemangeum area of North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province. After the ministry finalized and announced the basic plan for the airport in June 2022, the Joint Action filed an administrative lawsuit in September of the same year seeking its cancellation.
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