Background
Our client leased a unit in a residential building in Gyeonggi Province in 2020 with a deposit of KRW 439,000,000, and on renewal in 2022 the deposit was raised to KRW 460,000,000 for a term ending in October 2023. Neither side gave notice of non-renewal, so the lease was automatically renewed on the same terms. The landlord then became unreachable. Other tenants in the building had not been repaid, and in March 2024 the building was seized for the landlord's unpaid local taxes.
What Was at Stake
Because the renewed lease was still running, the deposit was not yet due. The question was whether the tenant could sue for it before the lease ended.
How Changchun Helped
Law Firm Changchun argued two points, both accepted by the court. First, under the Housing Lease Protection Act a tenant under an automatically renewed lease may terminate at any time, effective three months after the landlord receives notice; service of the complaint served as that notice. Second, a claim for future performance may be brought early where the debtor cannot be expected to pay voluntarily. The landlord's silence, unpaid deposits owed to other tenants, and the tax seizure met that test.
Outcome
The landlord filed no answer, and in July 2024 the first-instance court entered judgment without a hearing. It ordered the landlord to pay the client KRW 460,000,000 in exchange for the return of the unit, imposed the litigation costs on the landlord, and made the judgment provisionally enforceable.
When a landlord shows signs of financial distress, tenants need not wait for the lease to expire. Combining a termination notice with a claim for future performance can bring a judgment forward. (Outcomes depend on the facts of each case.)