Background
A purchaser of an office unit sought rescission of the pre-sale contract and refund of the purchase price on the ground of deception (Civil Act art. 110), claiming to have contracted on the understanding that financing of up to 80% of the balance was definitely available, when in fact it fell short. Changchun represented the developer.
The Issue — "Up to 80%" and "A Fixed 80%" Are Entirely Different
Pre-sale advertising is interpreted by the objective wording as an ordinarily attentive member of the public would understand it. The issues were whether "up to 80% financing on the balance" in the advertising and consultation materials meant "an unconditional guarantee of 80%," and whether the developer was in a position to be responsible for that financing being extended.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun (attorneys Jaesun Yoon and Donghwan Shin) addressed both the meaning of the advertising and the inherent structure of lending. We showed point by point that ① the wording meant only that "up to 80% is available under a loan agreement with a financial institution," not that "80% is definitively guaranteed" ("available" and "guaranteed" are legally quite different terms); ② lending limits are inherently set by the financial institution on its assessment of the borrower's (the purchaser's) credit and collateral, not by the developer, and lie outside the developer's control; ③ the pre-sale contract contained no undertaking that "the balance shall be paid by loan," so payment of the balance was in principle the purchaser's responsibility; and ④ when financing became difficult for some purchasers, the developer went so far as to coordinate with other financial institutions to help loans go through, so there was no intent to deceive.
Conclusion
The court dismissed the claim, holding that the developer had never guaranteed the financing definitively (judgment for our client).
Distinguishing "available" from "guaranteed," and identifying precisely who extends the loan (the financial institution) and how responsibility is allocated, decided the outcome. Subjective expectations going beyond the ordinary meaning of pre-sale advertising cannot rescind a contract already concluded. (Outcomes may differ depending on the facts of each matter.)