Goyang City Abandons Appeal in City Hall Lawsuit Following Justice Minister's Directive

Goyang City Caught Off Guard Despite Confidence in Appeal Victory
City to Conduct Internal Audit to Address Partial First Trial Loss
Follow-up Measures to Be Taken in Accordance with Relevant Laws

Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Donghwan) announced on October 2 that it was unable to file an appeal regarding the first trial verdict related to the city hall, which was the subject of a resident lawsuit.

A view of Goyang Special City Hall. Provided by Goyang Special City.

The city explained that, of the four issues at the center of the previous ruling, three were dismissed and one was ruled unlawful and accepted. The city had been preparing to appeal this decision, but on September 30, the deadline for appeal, the Minister of Justice decided and notified the city to "abandon the appeal," so the city was unable to proceed.

The city stated that the previous ruling acknowledged there was no illegality in the procedures for relocating the city hall or in the execution of reserve funds. Regarding the city council’s demand for reimbursement, the city argued that an audit request must precede such a demand, making the council’s request unjustified, and thus had been pursuing an appeal on these grounds.

In particular, the city emphasized that the court’s verdict was contradictory and that there was room for legal dispute in the court's interpretation, which separated the city council’s corrective demands as an independent issue. The city had announced plans to appeal this part after thorough legal consultation and review.

According to Article 6 of the Act on Litigation to Which the State is a Party, a basic local government must obtain litigation guidance from the Minister of Justice to file an appeal. In this case, Goyang City submitted its opinion to appeal and requested approval from the Ministry of Justice on September 23, but the Ministry only notified the city of its decision to "abandon the appeal" on September 30, the appeal deadline.

A city official explained that Goyang City, which had judged there was a sufficient chance of winning and had been preparing for an appeal, was left in a situation where there was no other choice but to be taken aback. Ultimately, the city said that because there was no time to raise an objection with the Ministry of Justice, the decision to abandon the appeal was made by default.

However, the city stated that it respects the Ministry of Justice’s directive to abandon the appeal and will do its utmost to carry out all necessary follow-up measures.

First, regarding the part of the first trial verdict that found the city "unlawful for failing to address the reimbursement demand (deemed negligent)," the city plans to conduct its own audit and, based on the results, will proceed with appropriate follow-up measures in accordance with relevant laws. The city also emphasized that it is broadly reviewing various response options.

Meanwhile, in the ruling by the First Administrative Division of Uijeongbu District Court on September 16, 2025, the plaintiff (Yoon Yongseok) raised three claims: ▲failure to allocate the main and supplementary budget for the feasibility study on relocating Goyang City Hall, ▲unauthorized expenditure of reserve funds, and ▲failure to comply with the city council’s audit request. The court dismissed all three claims, stating that they did not meet the requirements for a resident lawsuit. However, the court partially accepted the claim regarding the city’s failure to address the council’s reimbursement demand, ruling that the city was "negligent and thus unlawful" in this regard.