CONTENTS
- 1. Administrative Litigation, the Detailed Circumstances?
- - Administrative Litigation, the Relevant Statutes?
- 2. Administrative Litigation, the Court's Determination?
- 3. Administrative Litigation, Daeryun's Strategy?
1. Administrative Litigation, the Detailed Circumstances?
The plaintiff that filed the administrative litigation was Korea Electric Power Corporation (hereinafter "KEPCO"), which in October of last year was billed 69.95 million won in water charges by the waterworks office.
During this period, there was no staff stationed at the KEPCO workplace, so no on-site meter reading was carried out, and the charges were calculated based on the most recent record, the usage figure from August of the previous year. Later, when a sharp increase in usage was confirmed in October, charges for fourteen months were imposed all at once.
This was caused by a leak that occurred in the piping beneath the floor of the workplace restroom.
After completing the repair work, KEPCO requested a reduction from the waterworks office, and the waterworks office reflected this by applying an exemption of the sewerage charges and other measures, ultimately imposing a final amount of 14.8 million won.
KEPCO, however, filed the administrative litigation seeking full revocation of the disposition imposing the water charges.
Administrative Litigation, the Relevant Statutes?
🔗Administrative litigation refers to a judicial procedure that, in response to an administrative agency's unlawful disposition or other exercise of, or failure to exercise, public authority, provides relief for infringements of the people's rights or interests and seeks to resolve disputes concerning legal relations under public law or the application of the law.
In the case of administrative litigation, an action may be filed only within 90 days from the day on which the party became aware that the disposition had been made, and within one year from the day on which the disposition was made.
■ Administrative Litigation Procedure
① Filing the Complaint | To file administrative litigation, a party must prepare a complaint and submit it to the court, and the form of the complaint and instructions for preparing it can be found at the civil affairs office of each court or at the electronic civil affairs center. |
② Submitting the Answer | The defendant must submit an answer within 30 days from the day on which it receives a duplicate of the complaint. |
③ Conducting the Hearing | The litigation first organizes the facts through a preparatory pleading date that frames the issues, followed by a procedure for preparing the necessary evidence. Examination of evidence is then conducted intensively at the pleading date. |
④ Pronouncement of Judgment | Once all procedures are complete, the presiding judge closes the pleadings and designates a date for pronouncement of the judgment. The judgment is pronounced even if the parties do not appear, and an appeal may be filed within two weeks from the day on which the written judgment is served. |
2. Administrative Litigation, the Court's Determination?
The administrative court that heard the administrative litigation ruled in favor of the waterworks office.
This was because, under the water supply ordinance, a water user has a duty to maintain the piping equipment within its workplace, and the user is responsible for any loss arising from a failure to maintain it.
The court determined that "the responsibility for managing the unstaffed workplace lies with KEPCO, and KEPCO must also bear the water-pipe leak and the resulting loss."
The court also held that "the fact that the waterworks office did not conduct on-site meter readings for fourteen months and therefore failed to detect the leak early was due to KEPCO's poor management, and a request for an additional reduction is unwarranted given that the water charges have already been reduced."
3. Administrative Litigation, Daeryun's Strategy?
In connection with the administrative litigation, we analyzed the administrative court's judgment, which found that the large water bill imposed for a leak at an unstaffed workplace was a lawful imposition attributable to the failure to maintain the facilities.
As unstaffed workplaces have been increasing in recent years, business operators should detect problems such as water-pipe leaks early through regular meter readings and fulfill their maintenance duties.
If a tax has been imposed unfairly, relief may be obtained through administrative litigation. That said, because administrative litigation is brought against the State, a local government, or a public institution, it requires a deep understanding of administrative law, the Administrative Procedures Act, and the relevant regulations and precedents, unlike ordinary civil or criminal litigation.
The Daeryun Law Firm LLP 🔗administrative litigation attorneys draw on extensive administrative litigation experience to provide legal assistance and work to protect their clients' rights and interests, so if you need help, you are welcome to request a legal consultation with Daeryun.
