Gwangju Legal Consultation, Favorable Outcome | A Case of Succeeding in the Full Refund of Study-Abroad Fees After a Legal Consultation with Daeryun's Gwangju Office

The client's case, as assessed through the Gwangju legal consultation, was as follows.

In order to send the son to study abroad in Germany, the client entered into a study-abroad contract with Company A, a company handling the administration of study-abroad programs, by paying a contract fee of about 20 million won.

About six months after the son went abroad to study, the client received a telephone call from Company A.

The substance of the call was that the son's attitude at the school he was currently attending in Germany was very poor and that he was extremely unstable emotionally, so he could not complete the study-abroad program and a prompt return home was necessary.

The alarmed client checked the facts with the son, who denied that any such thing had happened, but Company A continued to urge an early return home, insisting that the son was in a seriously unstable condition.

In the end, the client's son returned home without finishing the study-abroad program, and the client wished to argue the failure to perform contractual obligations against Company A and to proceed with a lawsuit for the return of the contract fee.

Seeking legal assistance in this process, the client looked for a damages attorney in Gwangju and came to have a legal consultation at Daeryun's Gwangju office.

In the Gwangju legal consultation, the client was given an explanation of the statutes relevant to asserting 🔗rescission of a contract.

As in the client's situation, a contract may be rescinded on the ground of the other party's failure to perform its obligations, and through this the contract fee can be recovered.

▣ Civil Act, Article 543 (Right of Termination and Rescission)
① If, by contract or by provision of law, one or both of the parties have the right of termination or rescission, such termination or rescission shall be effected by a declaration of intent to the other party.
② The declaration of intent referred to in the preceding paragraph may not be withdrawn.

▣ Civil Act, Article 548 (Effect of Rescission and the Obligation of Restitution)

① When one of the parties has rescinded a contract, each party is under an obligation to restore the other party to its original position. However, this shall not prejudice the rights of third parties.
② In the case of the preceding paragraph, interest shall be added to any money to be returned, calculated from the date of its receipt.

According to the study-abroad contract that Company A and the client entered into, the following obligation of Company A was included.

The attorney argued that enabling the applicant to promptly ascertain the content at issue and to prepare for the effects that might result therefrom falls within this duty to explain.

Despite having a contractual duty to explain, Company A conveyed the content to the client only by telephone, without specific materials, and thereby deprived the client of any opportunity to verify the facts or to respond.

Because the very purpose of the contract could not be achieved as a result, the attorney argued for a full refund of the contract fee through rescission of the contract.

When one party breaches its contractual obligations and the contract is rescinded, people often assume that recovering the down payment or damages will be easy.

The amount that can be recovered varies according to the terms of the contract, and specific, objective proof of the breach is required, so it is advantageous to obtain the legal assistance of an attorney with extensive experience in such cases.

Daeryun LLC has handled numerous contract-related cases, including return of down payments and damages litigation, in which favorable judgments were obtained.

If you need assistance in this area, please visit the Daeryun LLC 🔗Gwangju Office to request a legal consultation at any time.