It was learned on the 1st that the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Korea Committee, whose corporate establishment approval was revoked over suspicions of impersonating a UN-affiliated body and raising 4.4 billion won in donations, filed a lawsuit to overturn the revocation but lost in the first trial.
At the first-hearing session on the 25th, the Administrative Division 14 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-deok, Director General judge) dismissed the plaintiff's claim in the suit filed by the UN-Habitat Korea Committee against the National Assembly secretary general seeking to overturn the cancellation of its nonprofit corporation establishment approval.
Established in 1978, UN-Habitat is a UN-affiliated body that works with national governments, civic groups, and others on urban development and improving housing conditions. The UN-Habitat Korea Committee registered as a nonprofit incorporated association with the National Assembly Secretariat in 2019 and was launched. Park Soo-hyun, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who served as Spokesperson at the Blue House under the Moon Jae-in administration, served as the first chair.
Around Dec. 2022, allegations arose that the UN-Habitat Korea Committee, without official authorization, impersonated a UN-affiliated body, used the name and logo without permission, and received donations totaling 4.4 billion won from corporations and others.
In response, the National Assembly Secretariat urged the Korea Committee multiple times to conclude a formal agreement with UN-Habitat headquarters. However, the Korea Committee failed to enter into a formal agreement. Ultimately, in Nov. 2023, the National Assembly Secretariat revoked the nonprofit corporation establishment approval for the UN-Habitat Korea Committee. The UN-Habitat Korea Committee then filed this lawsuit in Jan. last year, arguing that the revocation of its establishment approval was unjust.
However, the court found no issue with the National Assembly Secretariat's disposition canceling the corporate status of the UN-Habitat Korea Committee. The court said, "UN-Habitat headquarters clearly stated in 2019 that 'official cooperation must be carried out through a separate agreement,' but the Korea Committee made no particular effort to conclude a memorandum of understanding for more than two years after Sept. 2020," and added, "UN-Habitat headquarters continuously requested that the Korea Committee refrain from using the name and logo and demanded that it not conduct any activities in the name of headquarters."
The court continued, "Under Article 38 of the Civil Act, approval may be revoked when a corporation conducts business outside its purpose, violates the conditions of its establishment approval, or engages in other acts that harm the public interest," and said, "The Korea Committee's use of the UN-Habitat name and logo without entering into any agreement constitutes an act that harms the public interest and violates the conditions of the establishment approval, and thus falls under grounds for revocation of the approval."
The court also said, "The UN-Habitat Korea Committee covered most of its operating expenses with sponsorships from corporations, and it appears the corporations paid sponsorships under the mistaken belief that the Korea Committee had official approval from UN-Habitat," adding, "This not only causes financial loss to sponsoring corporations but also seriously undermines the credibility of the donation and sponsorship system, and there is a high risk of fostering distrust toward fundraising legitimately conducted by other international organizations or public-interest groups, amounting to an act that harms the public interest." It added, "There is also a significant concern that other nonprofit corporations may imitate the plaintiff's case."