1. Introduction

Cheongchul Law Firm (Responsible Attorney: Park Jong-han) conducted a lawsuit on behalf of the client, who is a member of the cooperative, to withdraw from the membership contract and to claim the return of the member contribution, given the situation where the regional housing association apartment project was not progressing smoothly. As a result, the client was able to withdraw from the cooperative and receive the return of the contributions smoothly.

2. Background of the Case

The client signed a membership contract for a regional housing association in Seoul and paid a contribution amounting to approximately 100 million won (down payment and interim payment). However, the regional housing association had not properly secured land and had not reached the stage of establishing the cooperative. Moreover, due to incidents such as embezzlement and breach of trust involving officers of the cooperative promotion committee, the progress of the cooperative apartment project became uncertain.

The client inquired with Cheongchul Law Firm whether they could withdraw from the membership contract and whether they could receive a refund for the contributions made so far. In response, Cheongchul Law Firm filed a lawsuit for the return of contributions against the cooperative on behalf of the client.

3. Legal Issues (Main grounds and issues of Cheongchul)

During the litigation process, Cheongchul Law Firm emphasized that the cooperative apartment project was not being properly carried out and that the officers of the promotion committee were currently facing criminal trials. It was pointed out that one of the allegations against the promotion committee officers was that they misled members about having secured all necessary land for the project, despite failing to do so, which was also true in the case of the client.

The court accepted Cheongchul's opinion and issued a recommendation for settlement, concluding that the client could withdraw from the membership contract without any further payment obligations and that the full amount of contributions paid by the client so far would be returned under certain conditions.

4. Significance (Meaning of this case)

In addition to this case, Cheongchul Law Firm has led numerous victories in lawsuits for contract withdrawal and contribution returns on behalf of members of regional housing associations.

At one point, the regional housing association apartment projects proliferated, leading to many contractors joining cooperatives. However, the success rate of the regional housing association apartment projects is originally around 20%, making the likelihood of success uncertain. Moreover, due to economic downturns and interest rate cuts, expectations for the proper progress of regional housing association apartment projects have become even more difficult.

The problem is that the likelihood of a project that has already come to a halt resuming smoothly is extremely low. Nevertheless, the association claims that members must pay additional contributions under the pretext of continuing the project.

As a result, many cooperative contract members hope to withdraw and reclaim their contributions, but the association is generally negative even regarding the mere possibility of withdrawal. Even if withdrawal is acknowledged, they mostly respond that refunds can only occur after the entire project is completed and profits are available through settlement procedures.

To avoid such risks, Cheongchul ensured that the client clearly withdrew from the regional housing association to prevent any additional payment contributions from arising and succeeded in obtaining a court decision to receive the full return of contributions in the future.

If you need solutions to related disputes, please do not hesitate to contact Cheongchul Law Firm.

Cheongchul Law Firm consists of lawyers from the top five large law firms in the country, prosecutors, and legal teams from large corporations. Rather than relying on a single lawyer, a team of attorneys specialized in the relevant field of the case is formed to respond. Cheongchul Law Firm provides comprehensive solutions regarding the entire project, focusing on achieving what clients desire. If you need help achieving your goals, feel free to contact Cheongchul.