Kim & Chang’s Environment Practice successfully won a case in its entirety on behalf of Company H, a large corporation in the shipbuilding and construction sector. This case was initiated by Company A, a real estate development company, against Company H at the Busan District Court, seeking costs of soil remediation and compensation for damages. Our firm defended Company H against Company A’s claims, which asserted that the soil contamination discovered on the site – previously purchased by Company A, where Company H had operated its manufacturing plant – hindered their development project. We effectively demonstrated that Company H’s operations were not the cause of the contamination, and therefore, that Company H did not bear any responsibility, setting a positive precedent in defending soil contamination cases.

Company A claimed damages arising from soil contamination, alleging that Company H had leaked pollutants into the soil during its manufacturing operations.

In response, our firm successfully demonstrated that the large amount of wastes found on the site were, in fact, past industrial wastes that had been buried, rather than wastes from the historic operations of Company H. In doing so, we were able to convince the court to reject all of Company A’s claims, thereby leading to the dismissal of the case.

Under the strategic review of our firm’s Environment Practice, this case resulted in a complete victory for Company H in the highly specialized and technical field of soil contamination disputes. It is a significant example of how our firm promptly and professionally addressed a soil contamination dispute involving a real property that had been sold long ago, resulting in a successful defense for the client.