Legal dispute continues over joint ownership of site around main gate

The container that had remained in place in front of the main gate for five months was removed in accordance with the judgment handed down by the court on March 23.
The removal was conducted as the Seoul Western District Court granted the civil injunction which Ewha had filed against the occupier. Following the court’s ruling, the container was finally removed around 12:30 p.m. on March 26, before the eyes of the school members welcoming the main gate being clear once again.
“Setting up the container abruptly and illegally is an obvious violation of the school’s property right,” said Park Jung-ok, an official of Property Management. “Therefore, the school is pleased with the court’s decision to grant the injunction.”
At the first trial, the court concluded that Ewha is practically exercising dominion over the site around the main gate. According to the judgment, the occupier obstructed the school’s practical dominion of the land by setting up the container in the middle of the night without any notice in advance. In addition, the court ruled that it is hard to say the occupier has a just right-of-occupancy since the reason he set up the container was simply to obstruct the land ownership of the school.
The conflict over the container has continued for five months since Oct. 27, 2014. The legal dispute was over joint ownership of the site around the main gate. When the occupier was successfully registered as a joint owner of 144-2 Daehyun-dong, he went further and filed a lawsuit for a division of common assets.
For five months, the container stood at the main gate, disturbing the school’s view and blocking the path of pedestrians. Once, there was even an advertisement of a private dance class posted on the container. The problem with this advertisement was that it gave the false impression that the dance class was being advertised by the school. The advertisement that incurred displeasure of school members was removed shortly. Afterwards, being aware of the advertisement, the school submitted additional papers presenting such fact to the court and was able to bring the decision of injunction forward.
“When the container was first set up, I was irritated at the sight,” said Yoon Sue, a sophomore majoring in English Language & Literature. “I thought if the occupier wanted to claim his rights, he should have done it when the school built the main gate.”
Even though the issue with the container has been resolved, the legal dispute regarding joint ownership is still ongoing. Since October 2014, the school has filed a suit against the occupier asking for the ownership obliteration, which went through five trials.
The case was dismissed at the first trial on April 8.  The school is waiting for the ruling to prepare for its next actions on the issue.
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