Seller Who Mistakenly Listed 3.17 Million Won Item for 317,000 Won Cannot Cancel Completed Transaction

A court has ruled that a completed transaction on a secondhand trading platform cannot be canceled, even if the seller mistakenly listed the price at one-tenth of the intended amount.

According to legal circles on June 27, Judge Noh Min-sik of the Seoul Central District Court recently ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by a seller, identified as A, against a buyer, identified as B, seeking the return of the goods.

A filed the civil lawsuit to cancel the secondhand transaction that took place in March of last year.

At the time, A posted an advertisement on a secondhand trading platform offering high-end billiard equipment for 317,000 won. Upon seeing the post, B immediately expressed an intention to purchase all of the items.

The transaction was completed within one day, with the delivery of the goods and payment of the price finalized.

It was only after receiving the payment that A realized they had mistakenly listed the price as 317,000 won, which is 10 percent of the intended price of 3.17 million won.

A demanded the return of the items from B, arguing that the contract should be canceled due to a significant error.

Under the Civil Act, a declaration of intention can be canceled if there is a mistake regarding a material part of the legal act.

B offered to pay 500,000 won in compensation or suggested that A buy back the items, but the negotiations fell through, leading to a legal dispute.

The court did not accept A's argument, stating that B had no way of knowing that A originally intended to sell the items for 3.17 million won.

Citing Supreme Court precedents, the court determined that A's mistake did not constitute a significant legal error but was merely a mistake of motive, which refers to an error regarding the reason or motive for making a declaration of intention.

The court stated, "To cancel a declaration of intention based on a mistake of motive, that motive must have been communicated to the other party and recognized as part of the contract," adding, "However, based on the evidence submitted, it is difficult to conclude that the fact that the intended selling price was 3.17 million won was communicated to B."

The court concluded that the transaction could not be canceled and dismissed A's claim.

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