Supreme Court: Sports Center Saying "Facility Construction Done, Pay More Deposit" to Members Is Unreasonable

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has ruled that it is unreasonable to demand additional deposits from sports center members who purchased expensive memberships instead of paying annual fees.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Lee Ki-taek) overturned the lower court's ruling, which partially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, in the appeal case filed by 386 special members of A Sports Center against the center seeking confirmation of non-existence of debt, and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court on the 15th.

A Sports Center raised the initial funds necessary for its opening through membership sales from 1985 to 1991. It recruited members through two types of memberships: general members and special members. Special members paid a joining fee of 4.61 million KRW, more than twice the 2.16 million KRW paid by general members, in exchange for exemption from the annual fee of 360,000 KRW that general members had to pay each year.

Between 2005 and 2012, A Sports Center expanded and renovated various facilities and demanded that special members either pay an annual fee of 1.91 million KRW or an additional deposit of 47.75 million KRW. They argued that since the annual fee for general members increased due to the facility construction, special members should also bear the burden. In response, special members filed a lawsuit, claiming that they had signed contracts allowing them to use the gym without additional deposits or annual fees, so they could not be required to pay the high additional deposits.

The first and second trials sided with the sports center, but the Supreme Court made a different judgment. It stated, "The fees additionally imposed on special members objectively exceeded a reasonable range." It added, "Considering that special members paid more than twice the joining fee of general members to raise the initial funds necessary for the center's opening, it appears there was a mutual agreement not to increase the fees for special members."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.