Booyoung vs Meritz...Conglomerate Chairmen Enter Second Round in Han River View Legal Dispute

Booyoung Chairman Claims “Meritz Chairman’s New House Infringes on View Rights”
Seoul High Court Concludes Appeal Hearing... Request for On-site Inspection Dismissed

The appeals trial has begun in the legal dispute between the chairman of Booyoung Group and the chairman of Meritz Financial over view rights of the Han River.

The upscale residential area in Hannam-dong where a view rights controversy has arisen. Photo by Yonhap News Agency.

On September 23, the Seoul High Court’s 37-3rd Civil Division (Presiding Judges Park Eun-young, Kim Jongki, and Min Jung-seok) held an appeal hearing for the injunction request filed by Lee Joong-keun, chairman of Booyoung Group, against Cho Jeong-ho, chairman of Meritz Financial, to halt construction work.

Previously, in May, Chairman Lee filed a lawsuit claiming that the luxury house being built by Chairman Cho in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu infringed on the view rights from his own house located just behind it. It is known that the two residences are separated by only one road. The case even drew public attention as a “view rights dispute between conglomerate chairmen over the Han River.”

The Seoul Western District Court, which handled the initial injunction trial, dismissed Chairman Lee’s request on July 27. The first court acknowledged that the new house by Chairman Cho would partially restrict the view of the Han River from Chairman Lee’s house, but pointed out that because Chairman Cho's house is situated diagonally, the view would not be completely blocked. The court also noted that because the framework construction of the new building was already completed, there was no practical benefit to suspending the work.

Chairman Lee’s legal team immediately appealed, arguing that an on-site inspection was necessary to verify the height of the new building and the area of the rooftop elevator facility. However, the bench rejected the request, saying such matters could be checked through photographs and video materials.

Chairman Cho’s team requested the court to make a swift decision, stating that the construction progress was being hindered by the proceedings.

Chairman Lee’s representatives explained, “The plot between Chairman Cho’s new house and the adjacent house has a slope, and the land on which Chairman Cho’s house is built is actually at a lower elevation. However, the second floor of Chairman Cho’s house is higher than the adjacent house’s second floor, which is the most important issue for the court to consider.”

They also demanded that Chairman Cho’s team submit the architectural blueprints of the new residence. Based on the actual height and ceiling heights in the blueprints, they argued, it was necessary to verify the extent of the height difference compared to surrounding houses and how much the view to the Han River would be blocked as a result.

Meanwhile, the bench stated that it would conclude the hearing in about three weeks and deliver its ruling afterward. Chairman Lee’s side has also filed another lawsuit in the Seoul Administrative Court in June, seeking to void the building permit for Chairman Cho’s house, with the Yongsan District Office chief as the defendant.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.