It has been confirmed that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport appointed the major law firm Lee & Ko in the administrative lawsuit underway over the invalidation of the Oct. 15 real estate measures. The defense team participating in this lawsuit includes a large number of heavyweight former high-ranking officials. The court set the first hearing date for the administrative lawsuit over the Oct. 15 measures for Jan. 15 next year without additional hearings.
Administrative lawsuits handled by government ministries are usually represented by the Korean Government Legal Service or small and mid-sized law firms. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) appears to have made the unusual decision to appoint a major law firm based on the judgment that a full-scale response is needed, given that if the Oct. 15 real estate measures are invalidated, policy credibility would collapse and the impact on the market would be significant.
According to legal sources on the 23rd, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) appointed Lee & Ko as litigation counsel in the administrative lawsuit filed by the Reform Party seeking confirmation and revocation of invalidity of the Oct. 15 measures. Reform Party floor leader Cheon Ha-ram filed a complaint and an application to suspend the effect for the lawsuit to confirm and revoke the invalidity of the Oct. 15 real estate measures with the Seoul Administrative Court on Nov. 11. The Oct. 15 measures designate all of Seoul and 12 areas in Gyeonggi as regulated areas and land transaction permit zones. The Reform Party believes that MOLIT intentionally omitted statistics, leading to strengthened real estate regulations being applied to Seoul's Dobong, Gangbuk, Geumcheon, and Jungnang districts, as well as Uiwang in Gyeonggi, Jungwon in Seongnam, and Jangan and Paldal districts in Suwon.
The attorneys in charge for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) are lawyers Kang Dong-hyeok, Kang Young-su, Seo Dong-min, Yoon Byung-seo, and Hong Seong-uk. Among them, lawyers Kang Dong-hyeok, Kang Young-su, and Seo Dong-min are former judges and are considered heavyweight former high-ranking officials. Lee & Ko managing partner Kang Young-su joined the firm in February this year after serving as senior presiding judge at the Seoul High Court and president of the Incheon District Court. He is regarded as a heavyweight former high-ranking official who serves as chair of the Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee.
Lawyer Seo Dong-min also joined Lee & Ko after serving as a judge (40th class) at the Yeongdeok branch of the Daegu District Court and the Daegu Family Court, and lawyer Kang Dong-hyeok is also a former official who joined Lee & Ko after serving as a presiding judge (31st class) at the Administrative Court.
A legal industry source said, "The fact that lawyers who served as president of the Incheon District Court or as presiding judge at the Administrative Court are taking on this case means that heavyweight former high-ranking officials with strong influence within a major law firm are participating."
Government ministries usually appoint the Korean Government Legal Service or small and mid-sized law firms as litigation counsel in administrative lawsuits. Major law firms sometimes take cases even when fees are not high because of the symbolism of representing the government, but it is not common for major law firms to participate in administrative lawsuits. A government official said, "In the case of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), there have been instances in the past where a major law firm was appointed in aviation-related lawsuits due to the need for expertise, but in most cases it appoints the Korean Government Legal Service or small and mid-sized law firms."
The reason the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) unusually appointed a major law firm is that if the designation of land transaction permit zones under the Oct. 15 real estate measures is invalidated, market turmoil is expected to grow. If the administrative lawsuit concludes that MOLIT's real estate measures are invalid, a balloon effect could occur, with home prices surging first in areas where regulations are immediately lifted.
If the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) loses the administrative lawsuit, a bigger problem is that the policy will lose credibility. If that happens, even if MOLIT rolls out measures to stabilize the real estate market going forward, they may have little effect on the market. In the end, MOLIT appears to have gone so far as to appoint a major law firm to protect credibility, the most basic requirement of policy.
An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "Among several mid- to large-sized law firms, we appointed the one we judged could handle (the administrative lawsuit) well in practical terms," adding, "We naturally expect to win this administrative lawsuit."