The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea Post resolved a dispute over fees for the use of 22 parcels across Seoul, including the road in front of Gwanghwamun Post Office. The city will pay about 900 million won a year for 11 parcels and use the rest for free. The fee burden, initially around 3 billion won, was cut by about 70% under the agreement.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 31st, the city will pay 966 million won to Korea Post from this year for the use of 11 parcels. This is the first time the city has paid Korea Post a usage fee. The city plans to pay the fee every year, and the amount may vary depending on the officially assessed land value.
Earlier, Korea Post demanded about 3 billion won in fees from the city, citing that the Seoul Metropolitan Government uses 22 parcels totaling 5,194㎡ (about 1,572 pyeong) owned by Korea Post across nine districts, including Jung, Jongno and Mapo.
Most of the sites are roads and sidewalks. Notably, the largest area is the road in front of Central Post Office near Myeong-dong Station in Jung District (1,335㎡, about 404 pyeong). There are also the sidewalk in front of Gwanghwamun Post Office (744㎡, about 225 pyeong) and the sidewalk in front of Chungjeongno Post Office (839.3㎡, about 254 pyeong).
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has maintained that imposing additional fees is excessive, as the city already spends its budget to maintain and manage the sites. It also stressed that the land was inevitably incorporated during public convenience projects such as road and sidewalk expansions. The cost to purchase the land was estimated to exceed 100 billion won.
The conflict escalated into a court battle. In 2022, the Seoul Metropolitan Government filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court against Korea Post to confirm the nullification of a compensation charge disposition. Earlier that year, Korea Post imposed about 13 billion won in compensation on the city, saying the city was using the land without permission. The first-instance court sided with Korea Post.
Both sides accepted the appellate court's recommendation for reconciliation and entered negotiations, a decision said to reflect concern over administrative waste from a dispute between public institutions.
Afterward, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea Post continued working-level consultations and agreed to drop the compensation charges. Instead, they agreed to pay fees only for 11 of the 22 parcels, totaling 2,825㎡ (about 854 pyeong). The remaining parcels, 2,369㎡ (about 716 pyeong), were incorporated into a national road and will not incur fees, bringing the dispute to a close.