Used Car New Owner Delays Registration, Former Owner Fined... Court Rules "Not Subject to Lawsuit"

The former owner of a used car, who was fined for delaying the transfer of ownership by the new owner, filed an administrative lawsuit, but the court rejected it on the grounds that "it is not subject to administrative litigation."

According to the legal community on the 11th, the Administrative Division 2 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Shin Myung-hee) recently dismissed A's claim against the Yongsan District Office of Seoul for the invalidation of the fine imposed for not subscribing to mandatory automobile insurance, stating, "According to the Supreme Court precedent that the fine imposition cannot be regarded as an administrative disposition subject to administrative litigation against an administrative agency, this lawsuit is inappropriate." Dismissal means terminating the case without substantive judgment due to failure to meet the requirements for litigation.

Earlier, A transferred the car to B in 2012 and handed over the necessary documents for ownership transfer, but B did not proceed with the vehicle transfer process or subscribe to mandatory automobile insurance until the following year. The next year, the Yongsan District Office imposed a fine of 900,000 won, stating that "the obligation to subscribe to mandatory automobile insurance was violated."

During this process, since the fine was not paid, the vehicle was seized three months later, and A met with B to agree on resolving the seizure, unpaid fines, and penalties. However, due to an error by the district office official, the seizure registered under A's name was not lifted, and the ownership was transferred, resulting in unpaid notices continuing to be sent to A.

A filed an administrative lawsuit, requesting "to stop issuing delinquent fine notices and to invalidate the fine imposition."

The court stated, "The Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act stipulates that 'a fine of up to 3 million won shall be imposed if mandatory insurance is not subscribed to,' but no separate appeal procedure is provided for this," yet dismissed A's claim on the grounds that "the issue could have been resolved through the objection procedure stipulated in the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Order."

According to the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Order, to appeal against the fine imposed by an administrative agency, one can file a written objection to the administrative agency within 60 days from the date of notification, and the administrative agency must notify the competent court within 14 days. The court then adjudicates the fine, and based on the result, the parties and the prosecutor can immediately appeal.

The court concluded, "If an objection can be made through procedures other than administrative litigation, it cannot be subject to an appeal lawsuit."

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