Supreme Court Decision 2026Da202526, July 16, 2026 [Damages (Other)]

【Holding】

Whether the retroactive effect of the decision of constitutional nonconformity on the part "within ten years from the date of acquisition of land by consultation or the date of commencement of expropriation," which limits the period during which the right of repurchase arises, in Article 91(1) of the former Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land, etc. for Public Works Projects, and of the remedial legislation following it, extends to the part of the same provision concerning the period for exercising the right of repurchase (negative, in principle)

【Summary of Decision】

On November 26, 2020, the Constitutional Court rendered a decision of constitutional nonconformity on the part "within ten years from the date of acquisition of land by consultation or the date of commencement of expropriation," which limits the period during which the right of repurchase arises, in Article 91(1) of the former Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land, etc. for Public Works Projects (before being amended by Act No. 18386, Aug. 10, 2021; hereinafter the "former provision"), and ordered the suspension of application of that part of the provision until the legislature amends it.

The former provision was thereafter amended by Act No. 18386 on August 10, 2021, and Article 91(1) of the amended Act (hereinafter the "new provision") provides that where all or part of the acquired land is no longer needed due to the abolition or change of a public works project, the right of repurchase may be exercised over the land by paying the project operator an amount equivalent to the compensation received for the land within ten years from the date on which the project was abolished or changed under the relevant Acts or the date of public notice of abolition or change of the project under Article 24, and where all or part of the acquired land is no longer needed for other reasons, the right of repurchase may be exercised over the land in the same manner within ten years from the date of completion of the project. In addition, Article 1 of the Addenda to the amended Act provides that "This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation," and Article 3 of the Addenda provides that "The amended provisions of Article 91(1) shall also apply where the right of repurchase may be exercised at the time this Act enters into force."

The above decision of constitutional nonconformity held that the part of the former provision limiting the period during which the right of repurchase arises to "within ten years from the date of acquisition of land by consultation or the date of commencement of expropriation" is unconstitutional. Accordingly, the amended new provision deleted the limitation on the period during which the right of repurchase arises, and also substantially extended the period for exercising the right of repurchase from the former "within one year from the time when all or part of the land is no longer needed or within ten years from the date of acquisition" to "within ten years from the date of abolition or change of the project or the date of completion of the project."

However, since the above decision of constitutional nonconformity concerned the part of the former provision on the period during which the right of repurchase arises, the retroactive effect of the decision and of the remedial legislation following it likewise extends only to the part on the period during which the right of repurchase arises, which was the subject of the decision, and, absent separate transitional provisions, the retroactive effect of the remedial legislation does not extend to the part on the period for exercising the right of repurchase, which is not directly related thereto.

【Referenced Statutes】

Article 91(1) of the former Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land, etc. for Public Works Projects (before being amended by Act No. 18386, Aug. 10, 2021); Article 91(1) of the Act on Acquisition of and Compensation for Land, etc. for Public Works Projects; Articles 1 and 3 of the Addenda (Aug. 10, 2021)

【Referenced Precedents】

Constitutional Court en banc Decision 2019Hun-Ba131, November 26, 2020 (HunGong290, 1502)

(Source: Supreme Court Decision 2026Da202526, July 16, 2026 | Judicial Information Disclosure Portal, Precedents)

2026. 10. 14. · By Attorney Dongwoo Shin