Analysis of the Recent Decisions of Korean Supreme Court regarding the Claim for Delivery of Sectional Buildings without Independence in Structure and Use

Abstract

「Act on Ownership and Management of Condominium Buildings」(hereinafter referred to as “The Condominium Buildings Act”) and the related decisions are on the way to completing the unified rules for condominium buildings through several revisions, however, the current status of use of the actual transaction system has led to cases that require flexible operation of legal principles related to the Condominium Buildings Act. As one of such cases, significant issues are the recent decisions of Korean Supreme Court regarding the claim for delivery of sectional buildings without independence in structure and use, which are: Supreme Court Decision 2015Da3471 Delivered on March 27, 2018 and Supreme Court Decision 2021Da220666 Delivered on June 24, 2021. In Decision 2015Da3471, the Supreme Court developed a discussion based on the existing rules of the Condominium Buildings Act and the related Supreme Court decisions, which were easing independence in structure and use, while combining these judgments with the rules of limiting the exercise of the rights of obligees against holders of rights. Such a conclusion was a realistic solution reflecting the characteristics of the specific case, and although the rationale was not sufficiently mentioned, it can be evaluated as persuasive in light of the existing legal principles. In Decision 2021Da220666, the Supreme Court deepened the existing legal principle of Supreme Court Decision 2012Da105 Delivered on May 24, 2012 specifically, regarding the specification of the object of sale when the actual use status and the registration of the condominium buildings ledger etc. were different in the contract for sale of the sectioned store of the commercial building. That decision can be evaluated as a meaningful one in that it was a decision of the Supreme Court that was judging specific cases in which special circumstances in which the object of sale should be specified according to the actual status of use, rather than the registration of the buildings ledger, etc..