Tycoon vs. Tycoon Clash Over Han River Views in Hannam-dong

A dispute over residential view rights has once again erupted between conglomerate families.

Chairman A recently began constructing a luxury home in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, prompting Chairman B to seek a legal judgment, claiming the project infringes upon view rights.

According to business and legal circles on August 15, Chairman B filed an application for a provisional injunction for the suspension of construction with the Seoul Western District Court on May 14, arguing that Chairman A's house under construction in front of his property rises higher than surrounding homes and blocks the view of the Han River.

Chairman A is building a detached single-family house with a total floor area of 2,014.19 square meters (approx. 609 pyeong), consisting of two basement levels and two floors above ground, on a vacant lot directly in front of the property where Chairman B currently resides.

The construction period runs from April 4 of last year to December 1 of this year.

At the actual construction site of Chairman A's house, the reinforced concrete structure of the building under development stood one to two floors higher than neighboring houses.

Consequently, looking toward the Han River from beside Chairman B's house, the Hannam Bridge and the Han River were obscured and out of sight.

The court presiding over the injunction application acknowledged that Chairman A's house construction would impose certain restrictions on the Han River view from Chairman B's property.

However, it judged that because Chairman A's house is located diagonally rather than directly in front of Chairman B's house, the view would not be completely blocked.

In addition, noting that the framework construction of the new building had already been completed, leaving little practical benefit in halting construction, the court dismissed the injunction application on July 27.


In the injunction application, Chairman B also raised issues regarding potential violations of architectural laws by Chairman A's building and flaws in the building permit process.

The court stated that these matters must be finalized through a formal lawsuit and did not issue a separate judgment on them.

Chairman B's side has currently filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court in June against the head of Yongsan-gu Office, seeking to nullify the building permit for Chairman A's house.

The house being built by Chairman A is situated on a sloped site with roads on both the front and back of the property.

Chairman B's side argues that the project violates building codes, which stipulate that "when a plot borders two or more roads, building height must be calculated based on the widest road."

Their position is that Chairman A obtained a building permit based on a narrow road located at a higher elevation, thereby unlawfully increasing the height of the building.

They also claim that administrative authorities failed to properly review and deliberate on development activity permissions regarding the "embankment" work performed by Chairman A's side to raise the ground surface of the building.

In particular, Chairman B plans to newly build his own home on the vacant lot directly behind Chairman A's property.

He also contends that Chairman A's house, built higher than surrounding homes, could directly infringe upon the view rights of his own future residence.

Chairman B's side is also taking issue with the fact that Chairman A's property includes a road purchased from Yongsan-gu for approximately 2.7 billion won in November 2022.

At the time, Yongsan-gu changed the designation of a portion of that road site to "building site" before selling it to Chairman A's side, who is an adjacent property owner.

Yongsan-gu explained that it took this measure after determining that the administrative asset had no value, considering that it was occupied by structures belonging to Chairman A's side and functioned as a dead-end alley with low traffic volume.

An official from Yongsan-gu stated, "It was not being utilized for administrative purposes such as a road, so we sold it in accordance with disposal procedures following the abolition of its designation."

However, Chairman B's side maintains that a judicial judgment is necessary to determine whether there were any flaws in Yongsan-gu transferring the road site to Chairman A's side.

Because it takes a long time for the results of the main lawsuit to come out, Chairman B's side has filed an appeal with the court, asking for a reassessment starting from the injunction application.

Chairman A's side stated, "This is a matter where the legal legitimacy and safety of the construction have been objectively proven by the dismissal of the injunction."

They added, "It is proceeding through legitimate procedures after receiving confirmation from Yongsan-gu Office that it is legal."

Back in 2009, Chairman B previously filed a provisional injunction application to halt construction on a home being built directly in front of his residence by Chairman C, leading to a legal dispute.

At that time, the Seoul Western District Court granted the injunction, determining that the construction of Chairman C's house would block Chairman B's view toward the Han River.

The conflict concluded after Chairman C's side agreed to lower the height of the new building.

Earlier in 2005, heads of two conglomerate families also drew attention by engaging in a conflict over view rights for a residence in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.