Background
A chairman was elected by member vote at an association, but the association's own election commission declared the election void, and the defeated candidate applied on that basis for an injunction suspending the chairman's performance of duties. Had it been granted, the new chairman would have had to step down before even beginning. Changchun represented the elected chairman (the respondent).
The Issue — Was the Declaration of Invalidity Lawful?
The injunction presupposed that the election commission's declaration of invalidity was valid. Procedural and substantive defects in that decision were therefore the key.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun (attorney Donghwan Shin) proved grave defects in the declaration of invalidity, showing ① that part of the underlying decision was unlawful because a matter already closed with "no disposition" had been reconsidered on an objection by a rival candidate who had no standing to object (the rules confine standing to the party notified of the disposition); and ② that the other disciplinary grounds could not be attributed to the candidate personally.
The court accepted most of Changchun's arguments and dismissed the injunction application in full (judgment for our client). The case protected a mandate given by the members' vote from being unsettled by an improper decision. (Outcomes may differ depending on the facts of each matter.)