Court said, "It is illegal not to allow the construction of the heat transfer pipe just because it is in front of the elementary school."

A court ruled that it was illegal to refuse permission to bury heat transport pipes because they passed near elementary schools.

The Suwon District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the Korea Heating Corporation against Osan City to cancel the rejection of the road occupancy permit.

The court ruled that Osan City's authority to open and construct other roads for passing through a child protection zone was exceeded, and that the transportation pipe construction itself was recognized as a significant public interest purpose of supplying local heating and cooling.

The heating corporation has been pushing for the construction of 35.7km of heat transport pipes in Hwaseong, Osan and Pyeongtaek to deliver heat produced by the Dongtan cogeneration plant to the Pyeongtaek Godeok district in 2018.

Osan City informed them to build a new road on the outer road and work on it, saying about 580m of the section passes through the child protection zone in front of the main gate of the elementary school.