Love Church in Seocho District, Seoul, won on appeal in an administrative suit it filed after refusing to comply with the Seocho District Office's order to restore its underground sanctuary to its original state.
The Seoul High Court Administrative Division 7 (Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-geun) on the 11th reversed the lower court's ruling against the plaintiff and ruled for the plaintiff in a suit filed by Love Church to cancel the restoration order against the head of the Seocho District Office.
In 2010, Seocho District issued a road-occupation permit allowing the use of 1,077 square meters of underground space beneath roads around Seocho Station on the condition of contributed acceptance of part of the then-newly constructed Love Church building and part of a church-owned road. Love Church currently uses this space as a sanctuary, parking lot, and storage, among other purposes.
Six people, including former Seocho District Council member Hwang Il-geun, filed a resident lawsuit seeking to cancel the road-occupation permit, but the courts of first and second instance dismissed it, saying the road-occupation permitting authority is not subject to a resident lawsuit.
However, in May 2016 the Supreme Court overturned that view and remanded the case to the Seoul Administrative Court. The Seoul Administrative Court and the Seoul High Court later ruled to cancel the permit, saying it violated the Road Act, and in Oct. 2019 the Supreme Court finalized a ruling that the Seocho District Office's disposition was unlawful. The Seocho District Office then issued a restoration order to the church based on the ruling.
Love Church filed suit in Mar. 2020 challenging the district office's action, and it has now prevailed on appeal. In Mar. last year, the court of first instance did not accept Love Church's position and ruled against the plaintiff.