Resolving Ownership of Communal Land That Has Troubled Residents for Over 70 Years

Jung-gu Supports Individual Ownership Rights Organization for Collective Shared Land at Ssangnim-dong 182... Lawyer and Judicial Scrivener Sign Agreement to Resolve Property Rights Exercise and Usage/Development Issues

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung-gu (District Mayor Seo Yang-ho) is set to support the individual ownership rights settlement of 86 parcels, including Ssangnim-dong 182, which had been tied up as collective shared land for over 70 years, causing distress to the owners.

The area around Ssangnim-dong 182 was land inherited from the Japanese and was allocated to relatives, national merit recipients, and others, being divided into 87 parcels in 1954. However, ownership rights were never settled, and currently, it remains collective shared land registered under about 80 owners. Therefore, every time land ownership is transferred, real estate transaction reports and registry adjustments for all 87 parcels are required, making land use and development requiring owners' consent, such as building construction, practically impossible.

Accordingly, the district has decided to actively provide administrative support to promote individual ownership rights settlement to resolve residents' long-standing inconveniences related to exercising property rights and land use and development.

Individual ownership settlement can be done through shared property division registration based on unanimous agreement among owners, but the process was halted due to missing landowners. The district office attempted to resolve this through redevelopment, but it was canceled due to opposition from landowners. Owners are pursuing ownership settlement through individual lawsuits, but due to the burden of litigation costs and complicated procedures, only five parcels have been settled so far.

Therefore, the Land Management Division staff of Jung-gu Office investigated and analyzed the registry details and occupied areas of about 80 parcels and began consultations with landowners to discuss residents' demands and ownership settlement plans.

Furthermore, to reduce residents' financial burdens and find a method that allows broad participation, on the 17th, a business agreement was signed with the law firm L Plus and the legal office of Son Jeong-ju to support the ownership rights settlement of the collective shared land around Ssangnim-dong 182, marking the start of full-scale assistance.

According to the agreement, the law firm L Plus and Son Jeong-ju's legal office will reduce litigation and registration fees, conduct public registry investigations and rights analyses related to ownership transfer registrations, and actively explain relevant matters to residents and respond to their inquiries. The district will support administrative tasks such as issuing related public registries, rights analysis, holding various meetings, and guiding residents to ensure smooth ownership settlement.

Additionally, the district will operate a counseling center to enable landowners in the area to jointly participate in lawsuits to settle ownership rights, and Jung-gu Office, the law firm, and the legal office will hold residents' briefing sessions together.

Yoon Yong-geun, the representative lawyer of L Plus, said he did not expect such collective shared land to remain in the heart of Seoul for 70 years. Although the lawsuits in the area are complicated and prolonged, he pledged to review and propose the most practical and best solutions from a public interest perspective to assist the residents.

District Mayor Seo Yang-ho stated, "Ownership settlement is a matter between individuals, but this area has many parcels and co-owners, making it difficult for individuals to resolve. This agreement has solved a long-standing issue for the residents. We will continue to listen carefully to residents' inconveniences and actively seek ways to resolve them."

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