Law Firm Cheongchul (Responsible Attorneys: Park Jong-han, Bae Gi-hyung) has recently obtained a favorable judgment in a lawsuit filed by a client who was a member of a local housing association, claiming the return of funds paid as contributions to the association and the trust company.

• The client faithfully paid the member contributions after joining the local housing association, but due to the recent downturn in the real estate market, the association's apartment project was not progressing smoothly, and ultimately, the association modified some aspects of the project, including the construction company and the payment methods for contributions.

• During this process, the association established procedures to terminate the membership contracts for those who did not agree to the changes in the project methods among the existing members, and some members, including the client, complied with the termination procedure.

• Afterwards, the contract terminators requested the association to return their contributions, but the association rejected the request, claiming that according to the termination agreement, contributions could only be refunded once 'new member recruitment' occurred.

Cheongchul filed a lawsuit on behalf of the client to claim the agreed payment (the contribution amount) from the opposing party,

1. arguing that the recruitment of substitute members is dependent on the sincerity and efforts of the defendant association and that the client cannot influence this process,

2. under the Housing Act Enforcement Decree, once a local housing association applies for project plan approval, it cannot recruit additional members, yet the defendant association is not applying for approval to recruit additional members and has applied for project plan approval instead,

3. the defendant association claimed that it did not make any substantial efforts to recruit additional members for a considerable period and, the court accepted Cheongchul's argument completely.

The court issued a ruling fully accepting the claims of the plaintiff, the client.

Recently, due to poor conditions in the real estate market, there have been increasing cases where construction projects are not proceeding properly, and this is especially true for local housing association projects.

Members who have signed membership contracts with local housing associations feel a tremendous burden regarding the payment of contributions, while they experience extreme anxiety, uncertain whether the apartments will be built properly. Nevertheless, they are in a situation where they cannot even unilaterally terminate the membership contracts they have entered into. In legal relations concerning these local housing associations, careful examination of the factual circumstances and thorough arguments suitable for the situation of each party are essential.

 Law Firm Cheongchul promises to continue doing its best for the benefit of its clients.