Seoul, Aug 12 (IANS) South Korea’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that ordered the Seoul city government to pay usage fees to the national railway authority for a public park built over a railroad.
The top court made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Seoul city government seeking to nullify a usage fee of 42.1 billion won (US$29.8 million) imposed by the Korea National Railway, a public entity affiliated with the transport ministry, for the use of the Gyeongui Line Forest Park site.
The court said it is difficult to recognise that the Seoul city government has the right to occupy or use the park site free of charge or that it holds a legal position to justify such occupation or use, reports Yonhap news agency.
Gyeongui Line Forest Park, a 6.3-kilometre linear public park in the western ward of Mapo, was built between 2008 and 2016 over former above-ground railroad tracks after portions of the Gyeongui Line were moved underground. Due to its popularity, the park is also dubbed “Yeontral Park.”
In 2010, the Seoul city government and the Korea National Railway signed an agreement on the former’s free use of the state-owned land.
But problems arose in April 2011, when the Enforcement Decree of the State Property Act was revised to outlaw free lease of state-owned land for more than one year.
The Korea National Railway did not renew the permit for free use of the park land and imposed 42.1 billion won in state property usage fees for the period from November 2020 to May 2023, prompting the Seoul municipality to launch the lawsuit in February 2021.
A district court ruled in favour of the Seoul city government in 2024, but an appellate court overturned the ruling in February.
–IANS
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