Wrongful Lease Registration Injunction Filed After Divorce: TAEHANG LAW FIRM Secures Deposit Reduction and Court Confirmation of Ongoing Lease Agreement

🔍 Case at a Glance

Our client, a landlord who had leased their own apartment to their son and daughter-in-law, faced an unexpected crisis when the daughter-in-law — following divorce proceedings — unilaterally declared the lease terminated and registered a lease registration injunction (임차권등기명령) worth hundreds of millions of KRW. Despite the fact that the son and grandchildren continued to reside in and maintain their resident registration at the property, the registration was completed without legal basis. TAEHANG LAW FIRM responded with a comprehensive objection strategy, successfully obtaining a court decision reducing the secured deposit amount and securing an explicit judicial finding that the lease agreement had not been validly terminated — establishing a strong foundation for the client's upcoming civil proceedings.]

1. Why the Client Came to TAEHANG LAW FIRM

Our client had been leasing their privately owned apartment to their son and daughter-in-law, renewing the agreement multiple times over the years. When the couple began divorce proceedings, the daughter-in-law sent a unilateral notice to the client — as landlord — declaring the lease terminated and demanding the return of the full lease deposit.

At the time, the son and the couple's children remained living in the apartment with their resident registrations intact. Only the daughter-in-law had moved out to her parents' home. Despite this, she proceeded to register a lease registration injunction (임차권등기명령) over the property, securing a claim for hundreds of millions of KRW.

The client firmly believed that the injunction had been registered without legal grounds, given that the lease had never been validly terminated. They came to TAEHANG LAW FIRM seeking to contest it.

2. TAEHANG LAW FIRM's Legal Strategy

Rather than mounting a simple rebuttal, TAEHANG LAW FIRM developed a multi-layered objection strategy built around three core pillars:

• ✔️Proof of Continued Occupancy and Resident Registration — We gathered and submitted documentary evidence confirming that the son and children continued to reside in the apartment and maintain their resident registrations there after the divorce, demonstrating that the property had not been vacated by the household.
• ✔️Challenging the Deposit Amount — We carefully reviewed the payment history and confirmed that a portion of the lease deposit had already been returned at the request of the son and daughter-in-law during the lease period. This evidence was compiled and presented to contest the full deposit amount claimed in the injunction.
• ✔️Establishing That the Lease Remained Valid — Through systematic collection of evidence — including the original lease agreement, renewal history, and communications between the parties — we built a comprehensive legal argument that the lease agreement had never been validly terminated.

Throughout this process, TAEHANG LAW FIRM kept one eye firmly on the bigger picture: not only securing the best immediate outcome in the objection, but proactively obtaining a favorable judicial statement to be leveraged in the inevitable civil proceedings over the deposit.

3. The Court's Decision — Deposit Reduced, Lease Continuance Noted

While the court did not cancel the lease registration injunction in its entirety, it accepted a significant portion of TAEHANG LAW FIRM's arguments and issued the following decision:

📋 Decision SummaryThe court reduced the secured deposit amount covered by the lease registration injunction and cancelled and dismissed the portion exceeding that figure. Crucially, the written reasoning of the decision explicitly addressed the client's argument — noting that the evidence submitted regarding the continued existence of the lease agreement had been duly considered as part of the court's determination of the scope of the injunction. 

This judicial statement holds significant strategic value. By having the court formally acknowledge — on the record — the arguments surrounding the lease's continued validity, TAEHANG LAW FIRM has established a favorable evidentiary foundation for the client in the upcoming civil trial over the deposit.

Securing a favorable court statement at the provisional remedy stage, before the main proceedings even begin, is far more valuable than it may appear on the surface.

4. Why This Case Matters — And Why Choose TAEHANG LAW FIRM

This case arose from a dispute embedded in sensitive family relationships — a scenario far more complex than a standard landlord-tenant conflict, and one where the evidentiary path is rarely straightforward.

Many clients in similar situations resign themselves to the situation, believing that once a lease registration injunction has been registered, there is nothing to be done. TAEHANG LAW FIRM proved otherwise — reducing the registered deposit amount through formal objection proceedings and, more importantly, securing language in the court's written ruling that will actively benefit the client in subsequent litigation.

A lease registration injunction objection is not simply a procedural formality. It is the opening move in a larger legal contest — one that can decisively shape the outcome of the deposit recovery lawsuit that follows. TAEHANG LAW FIRM approaches every case with this long-term perspective, designing each step to protect the client's interests not just today, but through the full arc of the dispute.

If you are facing a similar situation, we encourage you to reach out to TAEHANG LAW FIRM before taking any further action.