Gimje to Take Saemangeum New Port Jurisdiction Dispute to Supreme Court

Gimje City and its city council are preparing to take the Saemangeum New Port jurisdiction dispute to the Supreme Court after the central government assigned the port’s reclaimed land and breakwaters to Gunsan City.

Mayor Jeong Seong-ju and council speaker Lee Jeong-ja held a joint news conference on Aug. 8 and called the decision “difficult to accept.” They said they would seek a final review “according to law and principle.”

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Difficult to accept.

The Central Dispute Mediation Committee made its decision on Aug. 4, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety formally announced it on Aug. 7. Gimje says the ruling does not fit the standards and principles previously applied by the Supreme Court and the committee in deciding jurisdiction over Saemangeum.

The city particularly criticized what it described as an inconsistent assessment. The committee said jurisdiction should not be decided solely on the basis of the former maritime boundary, Gimje said, yet it gave significant weight to Gunsan’s existing maritime jurisdiction. By contrast, it gave limited weight to the direct connection between the new port and Gimje-controlled Breakwater No. 2, the port’s proximity to the Smart Waterfront City, and land transport routes passing through Gimje.

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We will see it through to the end at the Supreme Court according to law and principle.

Gimje and local civic groups also questioned the fairness of the review. They had requested additional deliberation and public verification before the final decision, but said the committee reached its conclusion without sufficiently explaining how those requests had been considered or resolved.

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After merging the two cases, reaching a conclusion in just a few months raises questions about whether sufficient deliberation took place on an issue that will shape Saemangeum’s spatial structure and regional development for decades.

Lee said the reclamation land for the new port entered the committee’s agenda in February, while the breakwater had been reviewed separately since 2022. “After merging the two cases, reaching a conclusion in just a few months raises questions about whether sufficient deliberation took place on an issue that will shape Saemangeum’s spatial structure and regional development for decades,” she said.

Gimje also criticized Gunsan for emphasizing coexistence after pursuing a legal dispute over jurisdiction of Saemangeum Breakwater No. 2. Jeong said Gimje was not seeking preferential treatment or a larger share, but asking whether the standards applied over the years had been applied consistently this time. He said the city would seek the Supreme Court’s judgment based on evidence, facts, law and principle rather than an emotional regional dispute.

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What Gimje is asking is not preferential treatment or a regional share, but confirmation that the standards and principles applied so far were applied consistently in this decision.