[GLOBAL ECONOMIC TIMES]  The ‘Namsan Gondola’ installation project being promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been put on hold. This is because the court accepted the application for suspension of execution to stop construction of the Namsan gondola on the 30th.

On this day, the 3rd Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Su-jin Choi) cited an application for suspension of execution of the decision on the urban management plan filed against the Seoul Metropolitan Government by Korea Ropeway Industry, which operates a cable car in Namsan. The court ruled, “The applicants recognize the urgent need to prevent damages that are difficult to recover from the decision in this case,” and “It is difficult to say that there is a risk that the suspension of the decision in this case will have a significant impact on public welfare.”

Last September, Korea Rable Industry filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court to cancel Seoul City's decision to change urban facilities for the Namsan gondola project site, while also filing an application for suspension of execution. In order to operate a gondola, steel columns over 30 meters in height must be installed on Namsan Mountain, and for this purpose, the city of Seoul changed the use zone of the target site to an urban planning facility park. Korea Ropeway Industry claimed that the Seoul Metropolitan Government did not comply with the standards for urban natural park zone cancellation during this process. After the court decision was announced, Seoul City said, “We plan to appeal immediately so that citizens will not be disadvantaged in using Namsan.”

The city of Seoul has been promoting a gondola project that runs an 832m round trip from the lower platform of Namsan Yejang Park, 200m away from Myeongdong Station, to the top of Namsan Mountain. The plan was to start main construction in November and operate it in the spring of 2026, but not only Korea Rable Industry but also environmental groups opposed it, saying they were concerned about destruction of the ecosystem. As the court upholds the application for suspension of execution, it appears that the schedule set by Seoul City will inevitably be disrupted.

Namsan Cable Car has been operated by Korea Cable Car as a ‘family company’ since 1962. It has been reported that the Seoul Metropolitan Government has expressed its intention to operate the Namsan Gondola as a private investment project. However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government rejected this and entrusted gondola operation to the Seoul Facilities Corporation.

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