Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| The site owned by Korean Air in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, in downtown Seoul. / Korea Times File |
By Lee Hyo-sik
Korean Air released a statement, Friday, demanding the Seoul Metropolitan Government stop blocking the sale of a site in downtown Seoul, which the air carrier seeks to dispose of to raise much-needed cash.
Korea's largest flagship carrier said the city likely violated the law by designating its 37,000-square-meter site in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, as land for a public park, urging city officials to stop infringing on its property rights.
The company bought the former compound of embassy housing for American diplomatic personnel for 290 billion won ($240 million) in 2008 to build a hotel. But it has been unable to do so because of opposition from the city government.
To secure cash amid its worsening bottom line and plunging travel demand, the carrier now wants to sell the property, worth about 500 billion won. But Seoul city has designated the site as a public park, driving off those prospective buyers.
"Seoul city has not secured enough money to buy the Songhyeon-dong land. It does not have specific plans either on how to create the park," Korean Air said. "The city government's action is tantamount to blocking the sale of our private property, which is illegal in fact."
The company also said the city should scrap the plans to build a park on privately held land and stop obstructing its attempts to sell off the property.
In June, the air carrier filed a civil complaint with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission against Seoul city for interfering with its plan to sell the site, which is part of its self-rescue measures to stay afloat.
