상인간 매매에 관한 일고찰 -매수인의 목적물 검사·하자통지의무를 중심으로-

According to the Civil Code, if an obligor fails to perform consistent with the purpose of its obligation, the obligee shall be entitled to demand damages arising from such failure. The same shall apply in cases it has become impossible to perform due to reasons attributable to the obligor. In cases there is any defect or any shortfall in the quantity of the property, that is subject matter of sale, the buyer may cancel the contract, or demand a reduction of the purchase price or compensation for the damage. But there is the specific provisions in Commercial Code – that is inspection of property by Buyer and Giving Notice of Defects- because of particularities of commercial transaction and trade customs in a sales transaction between merchants. So, in a sales transaction between merchants, the buyer shall, upon receiving the property that is the subject matter of the sale, inspect the property without delay. When the buyer, as a result of the inspection, has found any defect or any shortfall in the quantity of the property that is the subject matter of sale, he/she may not cancel the contract nor demand a reduction of the purchase price or compensation for the damage, unless he/she immediately dispatches a notice of such defect or shortfall to the seller(Article 69 Section 1). The same shall apply where the property that is the subject matter of the sale contains a defect that is not immediately obvious and where the buyer finds such defect within six months. But that shall not apply where the seller had knowledge of the defect or the shortage if quantity. Article 69 Section 1 provision shall apply where the subject of the claim is specified with reference to a type. By the way, Supreme Court has recognized the conflict between Responsibility for default and Inspection of property by buyer and giving notice of defects. But its precedent is considered a drawback Article 69 Section 1 in Korea Commercial Code. In cases Article 69 Section 1 is applied in Commercial Code, I think, the same shall not apply responsibility for default provision in Civil Code.