Seoul Court Rules Against Namsan Cable Car Project

A Seoul court has ruled against the city’s plan to change land use for the Namsan gondola project, deeming the action illegal.

The Seoul High Court’s Administrative Division 7, led by Judge Kwon Soon-hyung, ruled on September 17 in favor of the plaintiffs, including the Namsan Cable Car operator, Korea Sacto Industrial Co., in a lawsuit seeking to annul the city’s urban management plan decision. The court did not provide specific reasons for its ruling.

As a result, the Namsan gondola project, which has been stalled for two years since a court's injunction in October 2024, faces renewed legal challenges.

The core issue in this dispute revolves around the legality of changing land use and height restrictions under the Park Greenery Act. Current regulations prohibit the construction of any structures exceeding 12 meters in urban natural park areas. However, the city’s gondola plan requires the installation of intermediate supports, which would be 30 to 50 meters tall.

To circumvent these height restrictions, the city changed the land use designation from 'urban natural park' to 'Namsan Yejang Neighborhood Park,' classified as urban planning facilities. In response, Korea Sacto Industrial Co. filed a lawsuit against the city.

Both the first and second courts found that the city’s change of land use violated relevant laws. According to the enforcement decree of the Park Greenery Act, changing or abolishing urban natural park areas requires meeting strict criteria, such as significant damage to green spaces or loss of recreational functions.

During earlier hearings, the city argued that the criteria for abolishing urban natural park areas did not apply when changing to facility parks, but the court rejected this claim.

The first court noted, "Urban natural parks and facility parks are strictly distinct concepts under the law." It emphasized that any change from urban natural park to facility park must adhere to the criteria for changing or abolishing urban natural parks.

This ruling indicates that the city’s assertion that it could change urban natural parks to facility parks at will for administrative purposes is legally untenable.

The Namsan Cable Car has been operated exclusively by Korea Sacto Industrial Co. since it obtained a business license without an expiration date in 1962.

The city aims to end this long-standing monopoly and improve accessibility for the 12 million annual visitors, proposing a gondola system with 25 ten-passenger cabins to transport over 1,600 people per hour from near Myeongdong Station to the summit of Namsan, but the project is now at risk due to the court's decision.

Immediately following the appellate ruling, the city expressed strong regret, stating, "This ruling perpetuates a 60-year-old private monopoly and neglects the mobility issues faced by citizens."

The city also criticized the ruling as failing to adequately reflect the procedures and legal requirements for changing urban management plans, asserting that the decision was a lawful administrative action that met the criteria for changing urban natural park areas. It announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Conversely, Korea Sacto Industrial Co., local university students, and environmental groups welcomed the ruling, viewing it as a reaffirmation of legal standards for preventing reckless development and preserving the environment.