Gyeonggi Province Wins Final Supreme Court Victory on Hyunduck District Developer Designation Cancellation...Development Project Gains Momentum

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] An administrative lawsuit between the Gyeonggi Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone Authority and China Seong Development Co., Ltd. over the cancellation of the developer designation for the Pyeongtaek Hyunduck District development project has concluded with a final victory for the Yellow Sea Authority at the Supreme Court following the first and second trials, with the Hyunduck District development project expected to gain momentum.

The Supreme Court's Special Division 1 ruled on the 24th in the "lawsuit for cancellation of the developer designation cancellation for the Hyunduck District development project" filed by China Seong Development against the Yellow Sea Authority, issuing a decision to dismiss the plaintiff's claim, consistent with the first and second trial results.

Previously, in August 2018, Gyeonggi Province cancelled the developer designation of China Seong Development, which had been the development project promoter for Hyunduck District, citing grounds for business cancellation including ▲anticipated failure to complete development within the implementation period ▲non-compliance with land compensation and implementation orders without legitimate cause ▲failure to secure capital, etc.

Following this, China Seong Development filed a lawsuit in October 2018 requesting cancellation of the developer designation cancellation. In July of last year, the Suwon District Court's Third Administrative Division, the first trial court, dismissed the plaintiff's claim, stating "the grounds for the disposition presented by the defendant exist and there is no abuse or deviation of discretion or procedural defects." In April, the Suwon High Court's First Administrative Division, the second trial court, also dismissed the plaintiff's claim consistent with the first trial.

Meanwhile, the Hyunduck District development project is being promoted with a scale of 2.316 million m2 in the Jangsu-ri and Gwongwan-ri areas of Hyunduck-myeon, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, with Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Development Corporation (30%+1 share) and Pyeongtaek City Development Corporation (20%) participating and sharing stakes with private developers (50%-1 share) to proceed with the project.

On the 28th of last month, the Yellow Sea Authority issued a public recruitment notice for private developers with the goal of selecting the preferred negotiation partner in December, and as of the 16th when submissions of private developer participation declarations were received, 18 companies submitted participation declarations.

An official from the Yellow Sea Authority stated, "With this Supreme Court ruling, the legal dispute has been resolved, allowing us to proceed without interruption with the currently ongoing public recruitment for private developers for the Hyunduck District," and added, "Going forward, we will promptly designate an alternative developer and proceed with the Hyunduck District in a normal manner."