Court “60 million won sent to my brother-in-law... was a ‘gift’ as the loan could not be proven”

In a rental lawsuit, the burden of proving the rental lies with the plaintiff.
Judge Dong-Hyun Yoon of the Western Branch of the Busan District Court said, “There is no objective basis to prove the loan.”

A ruling was made to dismiss the plaintiffs' loan claim, judging that the money that the deceased husband had transferred to his brother-in-law's account during his lifetime was a 'gift'.

It was confirmed on the 14th that Judge Dong-Hyun Yoon of the 4th Civil Division of the Western Branch of the Busan District Court ruled on the 5th of last month that the plaintiff lost the lawsuit filed by the wife and children of the deceased, Mr. A, against Mr. A's brother-in-law for the return of the loan.

In 2020, Mr. A transferred 60 million won to a bank account in the name of his brother-in-law, Mr. B. According to Mr. B, it was his way of repaying his younger sister and Mr. B for taking good care of him while he was living isolated from his family for a long time.

However, a few years later, Mr. A suddenly passed away, and the conflict surrounding ‘60 million won’ began in earnest. Mr. A's wife and children, who belatedly learned of the whereabouts of the large amount of money, filed a lawsuit against Mr. B for the loan.

At the trial, they claimed that the 60 million won that Mr. B and his wife received from Mr. A was a ‘loan.’ At that time, Mr. B and his wife were in a situation where they had to urgently purchase an apartment, but due to lack of funds, they borrowed money from their family member, Mr. A.

In response, Mr. B countered, “There was no reason to borrow money because the funds for purchasing the apartment were already sufficient.”

Judge Dong-Hyeon Yoon of the Western Branch of the Busan District Court, who heard this case, ruled, "There is insufficient evidence to acknowledge that the 60 million won was a loan. The plaintiffs are only claiming speculation based on various circumstances without properly knowing the circumstances of the remittance."

Judge Dong-Hyun Yoon also dismissed all of the plaintiffs' claims, ruling that "when considering various evidence, the defendant's argument is persuasive as it appears that the deceased around 2020, who sent the money, depended on his younger brother and his wife, not his family, for living."

Attorney Kim Hae-rin of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Defendant B, who won the case in this trial, said, “In a rental lawsuit, if the defendant, unlike the plaintiff, does not acknowledge the fact of the rental itself, the burden of proof as to whether or not it was rented lies with the plaintiff.”

Attorney Kim Hae-rin went on to explain, “The plaintiffs had little interaction with Mr. A for a long time, so they were not even aware of the remittance,” and added, “It appears that the legal effect was not recognized because they claimed the loan without any relevant documents such as a money consumption loan agreement.”

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