Court Dismisses Jangheung County’s Lawsuit for Recovery of Abandoned Waste Disposal Costs

Lawsuit Filed Despite Authority to Collect Administrative Enforcement Costs
Gwangju District Court: "No Legal Interest in Suit"... Jangheung County to Bear Litigation Expenses

Jangheung County in South Jeolla Province filed a lawsuit to recover the costs of disposing of abandoned waste, but ended up only incurring litigation expenses after the case was dismissed. The court concluded the case, stating that the county had followed improper procedures despite having the authority to directly collect the costs of administrative enforcement.

According to the legal community on September 15, the 13th Civil Division of the Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge Jung Youngho) recently dismissed a damages claim lawsuit filed by Jangheung County against Company A, which operated a waste recycling facility, and its CEO.

Jangheung County processed 2,000 tons of abandoned waste left at Company A’s site through administrative enforcement on two occasions, from June 2020 to May of the following year. The total cost amounted to 813.33 million won. Of this, 176.23 million won was covered by a surety insurance policy held by the company, but the remaining 637.10 million won was not reimbursed.

The county filed a lawsuit to recover this amount; however, the court dismissed the case, stating, "Jangheung County, which has the authority to directly collect the costs of administrative enforcement, has no legal interest in filing a damages claim." The court also ordered Jangheung County to bear all litigation expenses, including court fees and attorney costs.

A county official stated, "After a property inquiry, we determined that there was no way to collect the amount, so we filed the lawsuit after seeking legal advice. We are currently reviewing our next steps."

Company A, which operated the waste treatment facility, went bankrupt due to management difficulties, and the operator has since changed.

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