Environmental Activists Hold Press Conference in Front of Chuncheon District Court to File Injunction Against Mount Seorak Cable Car Project. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
CHUNCHEON, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) – A coalition of environmental groups opposed to the controversial Mount Seorak cable car project has filed an emergency injunction seeking to suspend the development, citing irreversible ecological damage.
The coalition, known as the National Action to Protect Mount Seorak National Park, submitted a request to the Chuncheon District Court on Monday to halt the enforcement of a government permit authorizing the construction of the Osaek cable car in Seoraksan National Park.
The legal motion is a provisional measure while the group continues its ongoing administrative lawsuit against the Korea National Park Service, which approved the project.
The group argued that proceeding with construction before a final court ruling risks causing “irreversible damage” to the park’s terrain, rare alpine vegetation, and habitats of endangered species such as the Korean goral (산양).
Environmental activists highlighted a recent order by the Korea Heritage Service to suspend the project, citing insufficient verification of preservation measures for rare plant species. According to the plaintiffs, this directive reveals serious procedural flaws.
They also pointed to government research that found the project site to be 2.1 times more suitable for Korean goral habitation than the average area within the national park.
Mount Seorak in Sokcho, some 160 kilometers northeast of Seoul, commands a splendid view amid snow on Jan. 25, 2025, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“Numerous expert organizations have deemed the revised project plan unsuitable, warning that it threatens critical feeding and breeding grounds for endangered wildlife,” the group said in a statement. “Halting a destructive development in a national park is not a threat to public interest — preserving Mount Seorak in its natural form is.”
The injunction was filed by 29 individuals, including co-chair Park Geurim and residents of Yangyang County. While the plaintiffs previously lost the first round of their lawsuit to suspend the project permit, the court did recognize their legal standing, and the appeals trial is ongoing. The second appellate hearing is scheduled for June 18.
The Osaek cable car project has long been a flashpoint in South Korea’s debate over conservation and development, pitting local economic interests against environmental preservation in one of the country’s most iconic mountain ranges.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
