Pyeongtaek City, "Supreme Court's Final Ruling on Pyeongtaek Port Landfill Attribution to be Thoroughly Prepared For"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Pyeongtaek City announced on Tuesday that it will thoroughly prepare for the Supreme Court's final ruling regarding the attribution of Pyeongtaek Port landfills, as the court held second oral arguments on the 10th.

The oral arguments held on the 10th concerned a lawsuit to cancel the attribution decision filed by South Chungcheong Province (Dangjin and Asan cities) regarding the Ministry of Interior and Safety's attribution decision on Pyeongtaek Port landfills on May 4, 2015.

At the time, the Interior and Safety Minister determined that it was appropriate for the Pyeongtaek Port Sepoong District landfills to be attributed to Pyeongtaek City in accordance with the Local Autonomy Act. Subsequently, of the 962,350.5 square meters of new landfills, 679,589.8 square meters was determined to be under Pyeongtaek City's jurisdiction, and 282,760.7 square meters under Dangjin City's jurisdiction.

South Chungcheong Province opposed the decision and filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court to cancel the attribution of local government determination and filed a constitutional petition with the Constitutional Court regarding alleged violations of its autonomy.

The oral arguments were conducted for approximately one hour with approximately 20 minutes each for the plaintiff and defendant sides.

The defendant side included Mayor Jung Jang-seon of Pyeongtaek City, Park Sun-ui, the chairman of the city council, provincial council members Kim Jae-gyun, Seo Hyeon-ok, and Kim Young-hae, city council members Lee Gwan-woo and Gwak Mi-yeon, as well as approximately 30 members of the leadership of the Pyeongtaek Port Protection Civic Movement Headquarters.

The plaintiff side's legal representative for South Chungcheong Province argued that the 2004 Constitutional Court decision should be respected, and that there was procedural illegality in not hearing South Chungcheong Province's views, and that the Ministry of Interior and Safety's procedures and content were legally flawed.

The defendant side's legal representative from the Ministry of Interior and Safety explained the reasoning of the decision consistent with the intent of the Local Autonomy Act amendments.

Pyeongtaek City's legal representative argued that "all basic infrastructure and facilities are connected to the mainland and supported by Pyeongtaek City, and it is naturally appropriate for Pyeongtaek City's jurisdiction both in terms of the original purpose of reclamation and national interest."

The Supreme Court announced that with the completion of the first oral arguments in March last year, the site inspection last month, and the second oral arguments yesterday, the trial schedule has concluded, and the court will set the date for final ruling as soon as possible.

Mayor Jung Jang-seon stated, "Through the site inspection of Pyeongtaek Port and two oral arguments, we provided the court with reasonable logic and materials in keeping with the revised intent of the Local Autonomy Act," adding, "We will thoroughly prepare for the final ruling."

Meanwhile, Pyeongtaek citizens have been staging one-person picket protests in front of the Supreme Court since August last year.