Seoul faces 42 billion won bill for use of Gyeongui Line Forest Park land
The Supreme Court upheld a penalty over Seoul's unauthorized use of railway land beneath Gyeongui Line Forest Park.
Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Mapo District, western Seoul
YONHAP
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Seoul must pay 42.1 billion won ($29.6 million) in penalty fees to the Korea National Railway (KNR) over its unauthorized use of land beneath Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Mapo District, western Seoul.
"Seoul cannot be seen as having the right to occupy and use the land free of charge based on the agreement, nor does it hold a legal status that would justify its occupation and use," the Supreme Court said.
Gyeongui Line Forest Park is a roughly 6.3-kilometer (3.9-mile) park built above the underground Gyeongui Line railway, stretching from Hyochang Park Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, to Gajwa Station in Seodaemun District, western Seoul. It developed into a park through a "free use of state land" provision included in a 2010 agreement between the city and the KNR, and has since become one of Seoul's signature attractions.
But the arrangement ran into trouble after the enforcement decree of the State Property Act was revised in April 2011, barring free use of state property for periods of one year or more.
The KNR renewed Seoul's free-use permit for a one-year term in 2016 and did not renew it afterward. It then imposed a state property penalty fee of 42.1 billion won covering November 2020 to May 2023. Seoul filed a lawsuit in February 2021 to cancel the penalty fee.
In January 2024, the first trial court ruled in Seoul's favor, finding that the Gyeongui Line Forest Park was not subject to the usage fee and that Seoul had the right to occupy and use the surface land above the Gyeongui Line free of charge under the 2010 agreement.
However, in February last year, the appellate court overturned that ruling. "It is difficult to see that there was an agreement on free use as claimed by Seoul in the agreement between the city and the corporation," it said, rejecting Seoul's claim and ruling that "the imposition of the usage fee is lawful."
Seoul appealed again, but the Supreme Court's decision on Wednesday remained unchanged.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
