A factory operator whose business was expropriated for a road construction project lost a lawsuit demanding a relocation plan instead of cash compensation. The court ruled that relocation measures must be requested from the project operator, not the land expropriation tribunal.
According to legal sources on the 4th, the 11th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (presiding judge Kim Jun-young) ruled against the plaintiff in March in a lawsuit filed by a plaintiff identified as A against the Central Land Expropriation Committee and the Mayor of Goyang, seeking to overturn the expropriation ruling.
A had operated a wood processing factory in the Goyang area of Gyeonggi Province for more than a decade. The land where the factory was located became subject to expropriation proceedings after being included in a road construction project carried out by the city of Goyang.
The project is a public works initiative with the Goyang mayor serving as the operator, and project authorization was announced twice, in 2021 and 2022. In February 2024, the Gyeonggi Provincial Land Expropriation Committee issued a ruling on the expropriation (relocation) of the land and factory obstructions, and the expropriation began at the end of March that year.
A objected to the relocation ruling and filed an appeal stating a wish to "be compensated with a replacement site rather than cash compensation." However, the Central Land Expropriation Committee issued an appeal ruling that only modified the compensation amount, without investigating or reviewing whether Goyang had an obligation to establish a factory relocation plan. A then filed an administrative lawsuit.
The court sided with the Central Land Expropriation Committee. "The matters ruled upon by the land expropriation committee are limited to the method of land use, compensation for losses, and the commencement date of expropriation or use," the court said. "Whether the project operator violated its obligation to establish a factory relocation plan, or whether cash compensation is appropriate, are not matters within the committee's ruling authority." The court reasoned that the committee has no obligation to investigate or review appeals concerning matters outside its jurisdiction.
The court also dismissed A's lawsuit against the city of Goyang seeking confirmation that the failure to establish a relocation plan was unlawful. A dismissal is a procedure that ends a case without reaching the merits because the requirements for filing suit have not been met. "A submitted an appeal to the land expropriation committee requesting the establishment of a factory relocation plan or the provision of a replacement site," the court said. "Requests for establishing a factory relocation plan must be directed to the project operator, and the Goyang mayor cannot be deemed obligated to respond merely because the request was made to the committee rather than to the project operator."
