15-Year 10 Billion Won Land Dispute, Ulsan City Defeats Hana Bank ... Wins Ownership of SinbokR~Okhyeon Intersection

Busan High Court Recognizes Ulsan City's Possessory Acquisition Prescription in Remand Trial

Ulsan City Prevents Financial Loss Equivalent to Land Appraisal Value of 12 Billion Won

Ulsan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Ulsan City won the lawsuit over the ownership of the road land from Sinbok Rotary to Okhyeon Intersection against Hana Bank, protecting assets worth over 10 billion KRW.

The road consists of 22 parcels, totaling 11,247㎡, with a land appraisal value of approximately 12 billion KRW.

According to Ulsan City on the 8th, the Busan High Court ruled in favor of Ulsan City in the retrial on remand on the 4th, consistent with the Supreme Court's decision.

Previously, the Supreme Court overturned the second trial ruling on February 2 and sent the case back to the Busan High Court.

In the retrial on remand, although the road land is currently registered under Hana Bank's ownership, the court ruled that Ulsan City had taken over road management duties from Hanshin Real Estate, the then landowner, since February 1975 and had managed the land for over 20 years, thus fulfilling the requirements for acquisitive prescription. Therefore, Hana Bank must execute the ownership transfer registration to Ulsan City.

Additionally, although the ownership transfer registration was not completed in 1974, the court recognized that Ulsan City may have lawfully acquired land ownership through procedures such as donation and acceptance, among other circumstances, thereby acknowledging Ulsan City's land ownership.

Regarding Hana Bank's claim that Ulsan City was unlawfully occupying the road land, the court rejected this, recognizing the possibility that Ulsan City had legitimately received management authority and ownership rights.

This lawsuit began when Hana Bank applied for unpaid land compensation for the road land to Ulsan City in February 2006, but Ulsan City notified that compensation was impossible because ownership belonged to the city.

In January 2018, Hana Bank, using the fact that the ownership was registered under its name in the registry, announced a public auction sale of the road land. Ulsan City opposed this, filing a provisional injunction to prohibit the real estate disposition and initiated a lawsuit for ownership transfer.

An official from Ulsan City said, "Since the ownership of the road land had not been settled for nearly 50 years, it was difficult to respond to the lawsuit," adding, "We visited the National Archives and central government agencies to find all related documents on ownership at that time, which led to our victory."

They also said, "With this lawsuit successfully concluded, we have prevented a financial loss of about 12 billion KRW based on the land appraisal value."

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