— "Had We Known About the Column, We Would Not Have Signed": Judgment Ordering Refund of the Full KRW 600 Million Purchase Price Becomes Final
From a Herald Business report dated March 18, 2019.
[Herald Business = reporter Min-kyung Lee] The Supreme Court has confirmed a judgment holding that a pre-sale contract may be rescinded where the seller failed to disclose in advance the presence of a column capable of constraining the space.
On March 14, 2019, the First Division of the Supreme Court (opinion by Justice Soon-il Kwon) upheld the lower court's judgment partly for the plaintiffs in the final appeal in an action for "return of the down payment and other relief" brought by four people, including tenant Kim, against a regional housing association. Purchasers do sometimes sue for damages where there is a difference between the unit as presented at the time of sale and the structure of the unit actually delivered, but cases recognizing rescission of the pre-sale contract are very rare. Attorney Geonho Park of Law Firm Changchun, who acted for the plaintiffs over the two years and seven months of this litigation, emphasized once again: "Housing associations and sales agents will henceforth have to disclose clearly the presence and location of major structural features inside retail units, such as columns and ventilation shafts."