친일반민족행위자 후손의 토지 소송에 관한 판례유형

Pro-Japanese and anti-national collaborators are Koreans who collaborated with the Japanese government during its reign over Korea and perpetrated a lot of damage to Korea and Korean people. They gained lands as rewards for such pro-Japanese and anti-national actions around that time and the lands have been inherited by their descendants. During the 1990s, the lawsuits have been on the increase where the descendants of pro-Japanese and anti-national collaborators sought a confirmation of ownership rights in their endeavors to regain their ancestors’ land. During the initial period, the court of law could not render a judgment which confiscates such land due to the lack of governing law. However, later, the “Special Act on Asset Confiscation of Pro-Japanese and Anti-national Collaborators to the State” (“the Special Act”) was enacted, which enabled confiscation of their lands. This thesis analyzes land-related lawsuits by the descendants of pro-Japanese and anti-national collaborators and their characteristics. The descendants’ ratio of winning the case had been high prior to the enactment of the Special Act; after the enactment the Special Act, the ratio of losing the case becomes considerably higher. On the other hand, after the enforcement of the Special Act, the descendants of pro-Japanese and anti-national collaborators often sell the land to the bona-fide third party. In those cases, the state could not confiscate the land pursuant to the proviso of Article 3 (1) of the Special Act. However, the land sales price that the descendants received from the purchaser can be confiscated. Nonetheless, it may not be always feasible to confiscate the land sales price, and thus, a legislation addressing this issue is in demand through the amendment of the Special Act.