명시적 일부청구와 소멸시효의 중단

초록

Split claims are widely used in the Korean legal system particularly when it is difficult to determine the exact total amount of claim or a plaintiff has an intention to save litigation costs. In relation to an explicit split claim (the “Explicit Split Claim) case where the plaintiff expresses on the complaint his intent to expand the amount of the claim in accordance with the progress of the lawsuit, the Supreme Court of Korea recently rendered an important decision (2019Da223723) that (i) if the amount of the claim is actually expanded until the lawsuit is completed, the suspension of prescription due to a lawsuit takes effect for the total amount of claims as of the filing of the lawsuit and (ii) even if the amount of the claim is not expanded until the lawsuit is completed, the prescription of the rest of the claim can be suspended by taking actions under the Article 174 of the Civil Code of Korea within 6 months after the completion of the lawsuit in respect of the Explicit Split Claim. This Supreme Court decision is of great significance. It pursued a balance between the practical needs for the split claim and the protection of the debtor's trust in connection with the completion of the prescription of the claim. It flexibly interprets the Articles in respect of suspension of prescription under the Civil Code of Korea to better protect creditors as much as possible within possible legal interpretation.

키워드