Background
A public agency running an acquisition-and-lease program for vulnerable households claimed KRW 84.6 million in damages from the licensed real estate agent who had brokered a rental home (our client) and from the agent's mutual aid institution, asserting loss of the deposit and other sums "through fault in the brokerage process." Changchun represented the agent (the defendant).
The Issue — Not "Is There Liability?" but "How Much Liability?"
The heart of a damages case is not only whether liability exists but its extent. Where the claimant's own circumstances or the structure of the transaction contributed to causing or enlarging the loss, the award must be limited accordingly (limitation of liability and comparative negligence).
How Changchun Helped
Changchun (attorney Donghwan Shin) analyzed closely how the loss arose and showed that it was not caused by the agent's fault alone but was also the product of the transaction structure and the claimant's own circumstances, contesting the scope of the agent's liability actively.
Outcome
Of the KRW 84.6 million claimed, the court allowed only about KRW 33.84 million and dismissed the remainder — reducing our client's exposure by roughly 60%.
Faced with a damages claim, do not stop at "is there liability" but contest "how much liability" to the end. Precisely proving grounds for limiting liability can reduce an award substantially. (Outcomes may differ depending on the facts of each matter.)