Lee Myung-bak Couple Loses Lawsuit to Nullify Public Auction of Nonhyeon-dong Residence

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Former President Lee Myung-bak and his wife lost the first trial in the lawsuit seeking to nullify the public auction disposition of their residence in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul. Earlier, the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), which was entrusted by the prosecution to act as the auction agent, put the building and one plot of land located in Nonhyeon-dong up for public auction and disposed of them in May.

On the 19th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 11 (Presiding Judge Kang Woo-chan) ruled that both lawsuits filed by the former president and his wife against KAMCO ? the cancellation of the sale decision and the confirmation of nullity of the public auction disposition ? were entirely dismissed in favor of the defendant.

In April 2018, the prosecution indicted former President Lee on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and requested seizure and preservation of part of his assets. The court froze the Nonhyeon-dong residence and other properties. Subsequently, the prosecution entrusted KAMCO with the public auction agency to collect fines and confiscated money, and the Nonhyeon-dong building and land were sold in July for 11.156 billion KRW.

The former president and his wife filed lawsuits claiming that KAMCO’s public auction disposition was unjust, including a lawsuit to nullify the public auction disposition and another to cancel the sale decision. They also applied for a suspension of execution to halt the effect of the public auction disposition and sale decision, but the Supreme Court ultimately rejected it.

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