Court Orders Cancellation of Namsan Gondola Project Plan...Seoul City Loses in First Trial

Seoul’s Gondola Project Halted

A court has ruled that the Namsan Gondola construction project promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government must be canceled.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is delivering a greeting at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Namsan Gondola held at the site of the Lee Hoe-young Memorial Hall within Yejang Park in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the lower station will be constructed. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

On December 19, the Seoul Administrative Court’s Division 6 for Administrative Affairs (Presiding Judge Na Jin-i) ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by Korea Cable Car Industry, the operator of the Namsan cable car, and others, seeking to revoke the city management plan decision made by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The court explained, "Article 25, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Urban Parks and Green Spaces also applies when changing an urban natural park area to a neighborhood park, among others. Nevertheless, the defendant (Seoul Metropolitan Government) changed an urban natural park area to a neighborhood park without meeting the required standards, which is unlawful. Therefore, the court has ruled to cancel this decision."

Previously, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to launch a gondola project capable of transporting up to 1,600 people per hour between Myeong-dong Station and Namsan. To operate the gondola, the city planned to install intermediate pylons (reinforced concrete pillars) over 30 meters high on Namsan and changed the land use designation from an urban natural park area to an urban planning facility park.

Korea Cable Car Industry, the operator of the Namsan cable car, and others argued that the city made the land use change decision without complying with the standards for lifting the urban natural park area designation. In opposition to the gondola project, they filed a lawsuit in September last year to revoke the city management plan decision and requested a suspension of execution.

In October last year, the Seoul Administrative Court accepted Korea Cable Car Industry’s request, stating, "There is an urgent need to prevent irreparable harm to the applicants due to this decision, and it is difficult to see that suspending the effect of this decision would have a significant impact on the public interest." At that time, the Seoul Metropolitan Government appealed the court’s decision, but the appellate court also upheld the suspension of execution.

As a result, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's gondola installation project has been suspended for over a year. The city had been pursuing the installation of a gondola covering an 832-meter section from near Myeong-dong Station to the summit of Namsan to alleviate inconvenience for transportation-vulnerable groups and citizens.