Administrative Attorney | Securing Dismissal of the Plaintiff's Suit to Confirm Nullity of a Cadastral Resurvey

The cadastral resurvey project began in 2012. Its purpose is to identify the problems with the current paper cadastral maps and to accurately survey and measure the entire national territory, converting it into a digital cadastre, protecting citizens' property rights and enabling efficient use of the national land.

The project was launched mainly for two reasons: ▲damage and inaccuracy, and ▲reliance on the Tokyo, Japan datum.

The existing paper cadastral maps were surveyed and measured more than a century ago with outdated technology, so the cadastral information is inaccurate. In addition, paper maps tend to deteriorate or become distorted over time.

At present, about 15% of the entire territory of the Republic of Korea is inconsistent with the cadastral maps. The social cost of resulting land disputes alone amounts to 380 billion won per year, and social conflict arises from disputes between neighbors caused by incorrect land boundaries.

Korea's current position is measured using Japan's survey origin (Tokyo), which differs from the global standard by about 365 meters. The cadastral resurvey project was therefore carried out to register positions accurately in a digital cadastre and bring them into line with the global standard.

By clarifying land boundaries through a digital cadastre, the project aims to resolve social disputes and to protect citizens' property rights by registering information about the surface, the ground, and the subsurface in the digital cadastre.

The attorney made arguments regarding the circumstances of the plaintiffs' filing of the suit.

Through City A's cadastral resurvey boundary determination, the plaintiff stood to receive an unexpected benefit, namely the client's land, which was far more valuable than the plaintiff's own.

The attorney emphasized that, however, once the determination was withdrawn upon the client's objection, it was strongly inferred that the plaintiff disparaged the client and filed the suit.

City A's Administrative Appeals Commission had also held, with respect to the plaintiff's claim to revoke the disposition in this case, that ‘it is difficult to find that the plaintiff is an interested party under the Cadastral Resurvey Act with respect to the land in question, or that any other legal interest entitling the plaintiff to file an administrative appeal is recognized.’

The attorney emphasized that the plaintiff's filing was for a purely private interest and was not a suit falling within the legislative purpose of the Special Act on Cadastral Resurvey.