[비즈한국] The Supreme Court has issued its ruling regarding an incident in which a member of the Hannam District 3 redevelopment association drove a vehicle into the headquarters of Hyundai E&C000720, the construction firm for the project. The incident stemmed from a conflict over Hyundai E&C’s proposal to utilize the Hannam District 3 site during the bidding process for the nearby Hannam District 4 project. Despite Hyundai E&C expressing a desire not to press charges, the court ruled that the act of damaging building facilities with a vehicle remained subject to criminal punishment.
On the 19th, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of Mr. A, a non-standing director of the Hannam District 3 redevelopment association who was indicted on charges of special property damage, and upheld the original sentence of six months in prison suspended for one year. In September 2024, Mr. A was charged with damaging facilities by ramming his vehicle into the entrance of the Hyundai E&C headquarters in Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, three times. The accident resulted in damage to the entrance facilities, with Hyundai E&C sustaining approximately 50 million won in damages. There were no human casualties.
Previously, the first-instance court stated the reasons for sentencing last year, saying, "The defendant committed the crime by driving a pre-prepared vehicle into the building entrance, which caused significant loss to the victim. Even if the defendant had no intention of harming anyone, it is difficult to say there was no risk of human injury given the means, method, location, and circumstances of the crime."
It is reported that Hyundai E&C expressed its intent not to press charges against Mr. A immediately after the incident. However, the charge of special property damage is a crime that can be investigated and prosecuted regardless of whether the victim desires punishment. Mr. A was subsequently indicted, and after an appellate trial, his case reached the Supreme Court. The court took into account the fact that Hyundai E&C did not wish for punishment as a mitigating factor for Mr. A.
September 2024, when the incident occurred, was a time when a fierce competition was anticipated for the selection of a contractor for the Hannam District 4 project. The Hannam District 4 redevelopment association issued a tender for the contractor 16 days after the incident on the 20th of the same month and closed the bidding in November of that year. Major domestic construction firms Samsung C&T028260 and Hyundai E&C participated in the bid. Hyundai E&C had previously been selected as the contractor for the Hannam District 3 redevelopment project in June 2020.
The Hannam District 3 association took issue with Hyundai E&C's promotional activities for the Hannam District 4 bid at the time. Prior to the bidding for Hannam District 4, Hyundai E&C produced promotional materials suggesting that constructing a bypass road in Hannam District 3 could reduce project costs for Hannam District 4 by approximately 222 billion won. However, the Hannam District 3 association protested, claiming it was a land use plan made without prior consultation. Investigations revealed that Mr. A committed the act out of the belief that Hyundai E&C had caused harm to the Hannam District 3 association.
The contract for the Hannam District 4 redevelopment project was eventually won by Samsung C&T. In January 2025, the Hannam District 4 association held a general meeting to select a contractor and chose Samsung C&T. Samsung C&T secured the contract by defeating Hyundai E&C by 340 votes. At the time, Hannam District 4 was the only area among the four districts of Hannam New Town that had not selected a contractor after completing the designation of the redevelopment area, and it was considered to have high business viability due to a large volume of general housing units. The estimated construction cost for the association reached 1.5724 trillion won.
The Hannam District 3 redevelopment project is a renewal project aimed at supplying 5,988 households across 127 apartment buildings up to 22 stories high in the Hannam-dong area of Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Among the five districts of Hannam New Town, it has the largest area and was dubbed the "biggest fish" in Northern Seoul's urban renewal market, with construction costs alone reaching 1.888 trillion won. While some assessed its profitability as low due to high building-to-land ratios and height restrictions, Hyundai E&C viewed it as an opportunity to enhance its brand value and expand its housing business within Hannam New Town through the development of the large-scale complex.