Saemangum Project Temporarily Suspended

As the Seoul Administrative Court ordered temporary suspension of the controversial Saemangum reclamation project, the government will have to put the project on hold.

Upon the ruling of suspension, the court unusually said, “Those who filed a lawsuit may win,” drawing attentions to the final court ruling over the controversial Saemangum project. The court is also in charge of a lawsuit by residents who demand the government to scrap the project.

“All of the construction work in progress under the reclamation project should be suspended,” the court said Tuesday, accepting the petition filed last month by residents and environmentalists against the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

Residents filed an injunction in June, requesting the court to suspend the project until it lands a decision on the ongoing suit.

Accordingly, building a 33-kilometer seawall with 91.8 percent completed was suspended from the day and the project itself, initiated in 1991, is to be reviewed from the starting point.

The injunction takes effect for at least 2-3 months until the final ruling comes out, regardless of the government filing an appeal with a higher court.

“While the purpose of the project is to create farmland and develop water resources, there is little possibility that the newly formed freshwater lake will be able to be used for agricultural purposes due to the serious water pollution which is feared to erupt,” the court said in its ruling. “The Saemangum area, the only estuary mud flats, has a great value from an ecological aspect. If the area is preserved, the people will be able to enjoy a huge amount of benefits,” the court stressed.

The court said that the completion of the sea dike might bring about environmental damage such as water pollution and destruction of the tidal flats, which will need phenomenal funds to be restored. “That’s why it was urgent to put the project on hold before the final ruling.” Moreover, even if the initial purpose is to be achieved, it requires a large sum of money. “Therefore, those who filed a lawsuit may win,” it added.

More than 3,500 residents filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court in August 2001, demanding the government to scrap the project. Currently, the inquiry was almost completed.

“It is extremely embarrassing for the Seoul Court to make such a decision although the Constitutional Court had dismissed a similar appeal on Jan. 30 this year,” said Kim Young-jin, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. “We went to a higher court for a second opinion.”

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry says that the data of the water quality suggested by the court was based on the data of the Ministry of Environment announced in 1999 and it has been pushing for the measure to improve the quality. Therefore, it expects that the court ruling will be overturned. The ministry is also poised to rapidly progress the appeal to shorten the suspension period of the project to two weeks.