Lawsuit Requesting Disclosure of LH Apartment Sale Costs... 2nd Trial Dismissed Without Hearing

Seoul High Court. / Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) filed a lawsuit demanding the disclosure of the construction cost details of apartments by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), but the appeal was dismissed. A dismissal means a decision to end the trial process because the lawsuit or claim is improper or does not meet the requirements.

On the afternoon of the 21st, the Administrative Division 7 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Daewoong, Lee Byunghui, Jeong Sujin) overturned the first-instance ruling that partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the information disclosure lawsuit filed by CCEJ against LH, and dismissed the claim. The court canceled the first-instance ruling that ordered the disclosure of some construction cost details.

Earlier, in April 2019, CCEJ filed a lawsuit demanding the disclosure of information such as design construction cost details, contract details, subcontract details, and comparison tables between original and subcontractors for about ten LH complexes.

LH argued to CCEJ that the materials were subject to non-disclosure under the Information Disclosure Act. According to the Information Disclosure Act, information related to audits, supervision, inspections, bidding, and contracts can be withheld if its disclosure is recognized to cause significant hindrance to fair business operations.

The first-instance court ordered disclosure, stating that the design construction cost details, which are the basic data for construction costs, and the contract details containing unit prices per construction process calculated by original and subcontractors, would not interfere with related work even if disclosed. However, the first-instance court also dismissed the claim for some subcontract details and comparison tables between original and subcontractors, citing lack of evidence that LH possessed such information.

Meanwhile, CCEJ also filed a similar lawsuit against Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH). Subsequently, both parties agreed to withdraw the lawsuit in the appeal. SH is currently disclosing the sales cost of major completed project districts such as Magok District and Seocho Naegok District.

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