Ownership Settlement of Collective Shared Land in Ssangnim-dong 182 Area, Jung-gu, Seoul

Signed a Business Agreement with Law Firms and Legal Offices, Filed Pre-Litigation Settlements and Main Lawsuits...Opened an Online Band for Communication After Holding a Residents' Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) announced that it is actively supporting efforts such as filing a joint lawsuit to organize ownership of 86 parcels including Ssangnim-dong 182, which has been collectively shared land for over 70 years.

The area around Ssangnim-dong 182 was land inherited from Japanese owners and was granted to related parties and national merit recipients about 70 years ago through registration of ownership transfer, then divided into 87 parcels in 1954.

However, at that time, the land was not registered as individually owned parcels, and it remains jointly owned by about 80 people, making it inconvenient for owners to exercise property rights and practically impossible to obtain building permits or develop the land.

Owners have tried to organize ownership through individual lawsuits, but due to the burden of litigation costs and complicated procedures, only 5 parcels have been resolved so far.

Accordingly, the district office decided to provide active administrative support and signed a business agreement last June with law firm L Plus and legal office Son Jeong-ju to organize ownership, leading to a joint lawsuit with 100% participation after persistent efforts.

First, 72 parcels with subdivided ownership, allowing litigation, and 72 owners were designated as joint lawsuit plaintiffs, and a pre-litigation reconciliation (reconciliation among participants before litigation) was filed in September last year.

Along with this, the 72 joint plaintiffs filed a lawsuit for ownership transfer against 34 defendants (whose subdivided ownership status is unclear, already resolved, or undergoing individual lawsuits) at the court in December last year.

Through the agreement, the lawsuit proceeded without additional success fees except for the initial payment for the pre-litigation reconciliation and joint lawsuit for the 72 parcels, saving approximately 2 billion KRW in attorney fees. Investigation of similar cases showed that the law firm’s fees were about one-tenth of typical costs.

Also, with the joint lawsuit by participants, court delivery fees amounted to only 70,000 KRW, which is about one-hundredth of the cost compared to individual lawsuits, making it very affordable.

Due to COVID-19, court dates had been delayed, causing growing frustration among residents awaiting judgments.

In response, the district held a residents’ meeting on the 25th of last month to explain progress and listen to difficulties. Through the meeting, residents expressed their desire for swift judgments and noted that the lawsuit and ownership organization procedures were complex and difficult to understand, prompting the district to consider solutions.

Along with one-on-one explanations for residents, an online band was launched on the 30th of last month to enable continuous communication, share lawsuit progress in real time, and provide a channel for cooperation when document submission is required.

The district plans to produce leaflets with images to help residents understand, which will be sent by mail and text messages, and will create and distribute related videos to easily promote the current status, issues, and administrative support through skits.

Additionally, a petition letter requesting expedited lawsuit procedures, signed by the district mayor, was submitted to the court. After the judgment, the district plans to swiftly proceed with necessary administrative procedures such as registration of ownership shares, land register updates, and building register parcel adjustments to minimize delays.

Seo Yang-ho, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "Jung-gu is continuously striving to organize ownership of the collectively shared land around Ssangnim-dong 182, which has been a long-standing wish of the owners," and added, "We will do our best to make this ownership organization of collectively shared land, which has troubled residents for over 70 years, a model case of proactive administration for the residents."

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