Constitutional Court Rules Statute of Limitations Without Considering the Specificity of 'Disability Abuse' Cases Constitutional

Constitutional Court, Jaedong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the Civil Act provision, which uniformly sets the statute of limitations for all claims at "10 years from the time the claim can be exercised" without exceptions for claims arising from the special relationship in 'disability abuse' cases, does not violate the Constitution.

On the 7th, the Constitutional Court announced that it unanimously upheld the constitutionality of Article 162(1) of the Civil Act, which stipulates that "claims expire if not exercised within 10 years," and Article 166(1) of the same law, which states that "the statute of limitations begins from the time the right can be exercised," in a constitutional complaint filed by intellectually disabled person A and others, who argued that these provisions infringe on property rights.

The Court stated, "The claim for restitution of unjust enrichment does not presuppose a specific tortious act caused by intentional or negligent wrongdoing by a particular perpetrator. Regardless of the presence or absence of such wrongful acts, it aims to recover benefits transferred due to certain events to realize the principle of equity."

It continued, "Even if, as the petitioners claim, the social relationship underlying the case pertains to 'disability abuse' as defined in Article 2(3) of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, the claim for restitution of unjust enrichment is established and exercised separately from compensation or retribution for damages caused by illegal acts. Therefore, the reasons for the existence of the statute of limitations?protection of legal stability, prevention of double payment by the debtor, sanctions for non-exercise of creditor’s rights, and protection of the debtor’s legitimate trust?remain valid. Accordingly, it is reasonable to apply the starting point and limitation period of the statute of limitations under the Civil Act as is," the Court explained.

Furthermore, the Court added, "While it is possible to legislate separate provisions regarding the starting point of the statute of limitations or to extend the limitation period beyond 10 years in cases involving claims for restitution related to 'disability abuse,' such legislative theories aside, the legislature’s decision to apply the Civil Act’s statute of limitations provisions without considering the special nature of disability abuse cases cannot be seen as exceeding the scope of legislative discretion merely because there is a possibility of alternative legislation."

Intellectually disabled Grade 2 individuals A and B, a mother and son, worked six days a week, 10 hours a day, at a traditional Korean confectionery factory operated by C from September 2001 and June 2002 until October 2016, but did not receive wages.

The prosecution indicted C on charges including violation of the Labor Standards Act, and on January 24, 2018, the Supreme Court confirmed a two-year prison sentence.

On January 22, 2018, A and others filed a lawsuit against C claiming restitution of unpaid wages. However, the court ruled partially in favor and partially against them, stating that claims older than 10 years from the time of filing were barred by the statute of limitations under Article 162(1) and Article 166(1) of the Civil Act.

Moreover, during the first trial, the court dismissed the petition for constitutional review of the relevant legal provisions filed by A and others, prompting them to file a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court.

Meanwhile, Justice Lee Seon-ae submitted a concurring opinion stating, "Considering that intellectually disabled persons have difficulty properly negotiating working conditions or terminating unfairly formed labor relationships, legislative improvements to extend the statute of limitations beyond 10 years should be considered."

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