Supreme Court: Seoul City Must Pay 42.1 Billion Won to Railway Authority for Gyeongui Line Forest Park Usage

Seoul City has lost its final appeal at the Supreme Court, confirming it must pay 42.1 billion won in usage fees to the Korea National Railway for the Gyeongui Line Forest Park. The ruling concludes a legal battle over the park's land usage that began after the expiration of an initial agreement.

The dispute centered on a 2010 agreement between Seoul City and the railway authority, which granted the city free use of the land above the undergrounded Gyeongui Line railway for park development. This agreement was initially set to last from July 2011 to July 2016.

However, a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the State Property Act in April 2011 limited the free usage period for local governments to one year. Consequently, the railway authority rejected Seoul City's request for a five-year extension after the initial period ended in July 2016. Instead, it granted a one-year renewal, from July 2016 to July 2017.

Based on this, the railway authority subsequently demanded usage fees for the period from July 2017 to December 2022, totaling 42.12 billion won. Seoul City filed a lawsuit in 2021 seeking to cancel this imposition, arguing that the initial agreement should still hold legal weight despite the regulatory change.

While a lower court initially sided with Seoul City, ruling that the agreement provided a legal basis for land occupation, the appellate court overturned this decision. The appellate court found no mention of free land use in the agreement's text and upheld the validity of the revised enforcement decree. The Supreme Court has now affirmed the appellate court's ruling, ordering Seoul City to pay the substantial usage fees.