This case is meaningful in that it was the first case to persuade the Court with the legal principles of preferential sale conversion of public rental housing units in an allegation for the Rental Housing Act violations.
According to the Rental Housing Act (referring to the former law before it was amended to the Special Act on Private Rental Housing under Act No. 13474 on August 11, 2015), a rental business operator must first sell the house to a qualified person when converting rental housing for sale, such as a homeless tenant who has continued to live in the house after the obligatory lease period.
However, the construction operators who built and leased the rental housing in question were criminally accused of selling rental housing (apartments) for hundreds of households to others without administrative approval from the head of the competent local government.
DR & AJU was appointed as the counsel for the defendants of the above allegation. It thoroughly argued the special circumstances that led to the sale, the constitutional requirements of the penalty rules, and the legal principles of the sale conversion. Accordingly, the police decided to acquit the case after nearly a year of investigation.
This case seems to be particularly significant as it emphasizes the legal aspect of sale conversion, and it can be used as a reference not only for the former Rental Housing Act but also for the interpretation and application of other laws that stipulate rental housing conversion and sales.
