Determination of jurisdiction of Saemangeum area from the perspective of national interest
Authors:   Korean Administrative Law Association, Choi Woo Yong 
Published: November 2024

(1) There is a limit to the decision of maritime jurisdiction by the Constitutional Court. There is a problem of legislative formation in which the Constitutional Court determines the criteria for defining maritime jurisdiction, and it is difficult to prevent disputes in advance. And it has a fundamental limitation that the scope of the Constitutional Court's decision is limited to specific cases. Moreover, if the dispute is prolonged, the damage caused by it eventually falls to the residents.
There are also limitations in the judgment of the judiciary on landfills. Its limitations are as pointed out in the text. Moreover, with our judicial system, which is resolved by case by case, it is not possible to comprehensively resolve the jurisdiction dispute in the Saemangeum area, which is likely to continue in the future.
If so, judicial solutions that promote conflict and division should no longer be avoided. The profits of the Saemangeum project are not limited to one or several local governments due to the nature of the project. The profits from the Saemangeum project should be actively considered to return to the interests of the ours beyond the interests of the region and residents.
(2) In order to solve the problem in the Saemangeum area, the measures proposed by the author through administrative integration or establishment of special local government can be much more economical and resident-friendly than individual jurisdiction over the newly established landfill. As a result, it can be a bright idea to connect with the national interest. The problem is the stakeholders of the present and the future. Above all, local politicians based on local politics will be the biggest obstacle. This is well illustrated by the past case of administrative integration. In the end, public opinion and residents' decision are important. If the relevant laws and regulations are well utilized, a referendum will be possible. Therefore, it is also proposed to introduce binding regulations in the Referendum Act or the Balanced Development of Autonomous Decentralization Act that prevent heads of organizations from making decisions against them on matters that have been referendum.
(3) Currently, we have a serious problem of the times, the imbalance between the center and the region. The word ‘local extinction’ is no longer an unfamiliar word but a common noun in the present form. At this time, whether it is administrative integration or the establishment of a special local government, if a decision is made at the national level for the Saemangeum region, it will be an event that will mark a great milestone in Korea's administrative and local government history.
I mention a few things to be particularly careful about in the debate.
At the same time as the integration discussion, a discussion on the drastic transfer of state affairs should also be conducted. The success of administrative integration or special local governments depends on what duties they will perform. Therefore, in order for the Saemangeum region to enjoy both national and regional interests through administrative integration, the autonomy of major projects related to the Saemangeum region is transferred or delegated to the local government. Otherwise, the Saemangeum region is feared to become a large local government that only performs agency commissions under the direct control of another state.
To ensure institutional security in this regard, it may be possible to consider enacting special laws such as the tentatively named ‘Act on Administrative Affairs performed in Saemangeum Area’ to transfer affairs to local governments or special local governments established in Saemangeum area. Of course, it is necessary to accelerate the development of office work that special local governments can carry out.