Ownership dispute over part of Uijeongbu city complex reaches retrial after Supreme Court ruling

A parcel beneath parts of Uijeongbu’s municipal complex is at the center of a decades-old ownership dispute that has returned to court despite a final Supreme Court ruling last year.

The disputed land was formerly known as Uijeongbu-ri Mountain 5-10 and is now registered as 326-26 Uijeongbu-dong. The site includes parts of Uijeongbu City Hall, the city council, the Information Library and Jikdong Park. It was once used for military facilities, including an ammunition depot.

Kim Eun-sik, the claimant, says his father, Kim Jeong-hwan, lived in Uijeongbu-ri during the Japanese colonial period and was recognized as the owner during a land survey. Kim argues that the property he inherited was placed under the name of another person, identified as Song, during the restoration of records after the Korean War.

The records show that ownership preservation registration under Song’s name was completed in 1959. The state bought the land from Song in 1976 and registered the transfer in 1979. In 1986, it returned about 5 percent to Song while retaining roughly 95 percent until 1991. That remaining share later went back to Song through a 1989 repurchase transaction, registered in 1991.

In 1987, while most of the shares remained state-owned, the city applied to the Defense Ministry for free use of 2,280 square meters. The ministry approved the request after the Army chief of staff recommended it on the condition that the city purchase the land the following year. The available judgments and registry records, however, do not show that the city bought the state’s shares. In 2004, the city acquired shares from Song and two other individuals through negotiated purchase, paying more than 2.8 billion won for Song’s share.

The lower courts found that Kim’s father could not be shown to be the same person recognized in the original land survey. They also found no objective evidence that the city forged land records or colluded with Song. Even if the original registration had been invalid, the courts said the city had possessed the property for more than 10 years in good faith, relying on the registered owner’s title. The Supreme Court’s First Division rejected Kim’s appeal last November.

Kim requested a retrial in April, arguing that the city’s 1987 treatment of the land as state property should prompt a fresh examination of whether it checked the circumstances of the 1991 repurchase before buying the shares in 2004. Uijeongbu says Kim must prove that Song was not the real owner but merely lent his name. The Seoul High Court will hold a retrial hearing on September 4 to determine whether the grounds meet the legal requirements.