The Sokcho Eye, a Ferris wheel perched on the beachfront of Sokcho (Yonhap)
SOKCHO, South Korea, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A heated legal dispute has erupted over the future of the Sokcho Eye, a Ferris wheel perched on the beachfront of Sokcho, as the city government and the developer clash in court over the legitimacy of the project’s permits and their subsequent cancellation.
At the center of the controversy is whether Sokcho City acted lawfully in revoking the original development permit, which it had granted years earlier for the private-sector tourism project.
The first hearing in the case was held April 9 at the Chuncheon District Court’s Gangneung branch, where both parties presented sharply contrasting arguments.
The developer contends that it pursued the project in good faith, fully complying with administrative guidance since receiving the original permit. It argues that the city’s sudden cancellation violates the principle of legitimate expectation, particularly since the developer was not found to have acted with intent or gross negligence.
“The city issued the original permit and guided the process. To now cancel it based on its own misjudgment is fundamentally unjust,” said the developer’s legal representative, who also emphasized that the burden of proof rests with the city.
Sokcho City, however, maintains that the revocation was necessary after audit findings by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety revealed significant procedural violations.
These included favoritism in the developer selection process, unauthorized changes to evaluation criteria, and improper scoring methods.
“The administrative action is based on legal obligations to rectify confirmed irregularities,” said the city’s legal team, noting that responsible officials have already been disciplined.
The court clarified that the case concerns the legality of the revocation, not the original permit itself, and instructed the plaintiff to submit a rebuttal to the city’s January filing by the next hearing, scheduled for May 28.
The controversy dates back to Sokcho’s attempt to boost tourism through a public-private development model at its beachside theme facility. Five companies applied, but the selection process was later marred by allegations of preferential treatment.
The BAI referred the case to police for investigation, and the interior ministry recommended cancellation of the permit and disciplinary action.
In June 2024, Sokcho issued an order to dismantle the Ferris wheel, triggering the current litigation. While the developer has appealed the decision, it also filed for an injunction to suspend enforcement—a request that the court approved, allowing the Ferris wheel to continue operating in the interim.
As the case unfolds, it will test the boundaries of government accountability, developer rights, and the extent to which public trust in administrative procedures must be upheld—even when missteps occur within the system itself.
The outcome could have wide-reaching implications for how local governments across South Korea manage private-sector partnerships in public projects.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
