Cheongchul Law Firm (Lead Attorneys: Um Sang-yun, Lee Young-gyeong) represented the medical information platform operator, the client for the hospital imaging equipment development contract, and successfully obtained a ruling recognizing the validity of contract termination due to the opposing party's fault, ordering the return of previously paid amounts.

• The imaging equipment involved in this case is an automatic imaging device linked to the hospital's customer management system and the defendant's platform, where the plaintiff contracted to develop and deliver the equipment to the defendant. Under the contract, the developer, the plaintiff, agreed to deliver the prototype and final product of the developed equipment by a specific date; however, the plaintiff only delivered interim outputs that did not meet the contractual standards and failed to deliver the final product. As a result, the defendant terminated the contract due to the plaintiff's breach of contract and claimed the return of previously paid amounts, prompting the plaintiff to file a lawsuit against the defendant to claim the contract price, to which the defendant counterclaimed for the return of previously paid amounts and for delayed damages as stipulated in the agreement.

• During the proceedings, Cheongchul Law Firm emphasized that the plaintiff failed to deliver the final product specified in the contract and claimed that contract fulfillment was impossible due to a lack of technical capability, asserting that the plaintiff bore responsibility for the breach of contract. Furthermore, they argued that since there is a compensation clause for delays in the contract, the delayed compensation should also be paid in addition to the amount already paid to the plaintiff.

• In response, the court accepted most of the claims made by Cheongchul Law Firm, acknowledging the fact of the breach of contract due to the plaintiff's fault; however, it determined that the reasons for the delay in contract fulfillment were not solely attributable to the plaintiff, thereby reducing the compensation for delay to 70% and granting the counterclaim.

This case is a significant example of clearly analyzing the scope of contracts and the structure of responsibilities in technical and complex contracts while protecting the rights of the client.

Cheongchul Law Firm provided legal advice from the pre-lawsuit stage to ensure that the contract termination could be valid, responding to the plaintiff's lawsuit with a counterclaim, while also successfully proving the legality of the contract termination to minimize the client's damages.

This case is expected to provide important guidelines for drafting contracts and clarifying responsibilities in similar technical contract disputes in the future.

If you need a solution for related disputes, please feel free to contact Cheongchul Law Firm.