Law Firm Changchun represented the defendant, the Republic of Korea, in a claim by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for return, as unjust enrichment, of approximately KRW 720 million in occupancy charges and use fees it had paid to the Republic of Korea while occupying State property around Sejong-daero, and obtained judgment in full (Seoul Central District Court, Apr. 28, 2023, 2021GaHap594447).
The Seoul Metropolitan Government had been using State land around Sejong-daero as a road without any acquisition procedure, and from around 2016 pressed ahead with construction of the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture in the name of building cultural facilities and a plaza. When the State property management authority imposed occupancy charges of approximately KRW 640 million on the City, the City brought a suit in March 2018 to revoke that imposition — and Law Firm Changchun, acting in those administrative proceedings, obtained judgment in full in April 2020.
The City subsequently obtained permission to use the State property and paid use fees, but in December 2021 asserted that both the imposition of occupancy charges and the permission (contract) to use the State property were void, and that the occupancy charges and use fees already paid must be returned.
Law Firm Changchun explained forcefully to the court that there had been no change in the management plan or the managing authority for the land in dispute; that the City could not acquire rights of use and profit merely by designating the land as a road without lawfully acquiring it; and that the land was in fact being used not as a road but for a purpose the City had designated at will. The court accepted all of the Republic of Korea's arguments and dismissed the City's claims in full.
Law Firm Changchun represents clients in many real estate disputes — including claims for return of unjust enrichment arising from the occupation of property, occupancy charges and rent — providing the most effective legal services available.