Background
A high-rise residence development on Jeju Island was sold on terms promising "a guaranteed fixed return of 6% per annum for 20 years." Prices ranged from KRW 700 million to KRW 2 billion. When the scheduled completion date slipped by more than a year, purchasers found their money tied up indefinitely. Changchun represented purchasers seeking the return of their down payments.
What Was at Stake
The developer denied responsibility, arguing that "the 52-hour work week and COVID-19 made materials and labor hard to secure, so it could not be helped." The issue was whether such circumstances amounted to force majeure relieving the developer of liability.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun (attorneys Jaesun Yoon, Woojin Kim and Sungjoong Kim) proved that other construction sites had proceeded normally over the same period, so COVID-19 and reduced working hours were general conditions affecting every builder and could not exempt this developer alone. We also framed the legal case cleanly by attacking head-on the "delay in completion" — an objective fact recorded in the contract — rather than the far more contested question of "defects."
The court rejected the developer's excuses, and the purchasers recovered not only their down payments but liquidated damages as well. The case shows how greatly the outcome can differ depending on which ground is chosen when a problem arises with a property bought off-plan. (Outcomes depend on the facts of each case and may differ.)