“Laws take precedence over internal regulations”... fines for waste disposal companies, appeal decision ‘cancelled’

A company that violated the Waste Management Act three times... District office, 'separate disposition' depending on violation
The court said, “The standard for the defendant’s disposition is the administrative agency’s ‘business handling rules’… appropriateness of disposition and compliance with the law.”

The court ruled that even if fines are added up for multiple violations, the fine in lieu of business suspension cannot exceed the upper limit set by law.

Last October, the 4th-3rd Administrative Division of the Seoul High Court overturned the original court's ruling in the appeal trial for the cancellation of administrative disposition imposed by waste disposal company A and others against the head of Incheon Yeonsu-gu Office for violation of the Waste Management Act and ruled to cancel the fine imposed on the plaintiffs.

Company A and others received a fine from Yeonsu-gu in lieu of a business suspension equivalent to 6% of sales for violating three regulations, including not attaching and not carrying waste collection and transportation permits, under the Waste Management Act in 2023.

The fine for these companies' violations was 2% of sales, and the district made this decision based on the standard that 'when there is more than one violation, each is punished according to the violation.'

However, Company A and others were dissatisfied with the results and filed an administrative lawsuit.

However, the first trial court dismissed the plaintiff's claim, saying there were no problems in the process of calculating the fine amount.

Accordingly, Company A and others filed an appeal, arguing that pursuant to Article 28, Paragraph 1 of the Waste Management Act, fines in lieu of business suspension can only be imposed in amounts not exceeding 5% of sales.

The second trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

The appellate court said, “The regulations presented by the defendant as standards for disposal are merely administrative rules for internal affairs,” and “since they do not have the effect of binding the public or the court, the appropriateness of disposal must follow the provisions of the Waste Management Act.”

At the same time, he added, "A fine exceeding 5% of sales cannot be imposed by calculating a fine for each violation and then simply adding it up, as calculated by the defendant. However, since the court cannot directly determine the fine, it has no choice but to cancel all of the fines."

Lawyer Shin Jong-soo of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented the plaintiff in the appeal trial, said, "According to the Waste Management Act, the fine in lieu of 1 month of business suspension is 2% of sales, 3% for 3 months, and 5% for 6 months." “There will be unreasonable consequences imposed,” he explained.

#Waste #Handling Company #Fine #Appeal Cancellation

Park Seok-ho (haitai2000@ikbc.co.kr)

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"Legal priority over internal regulations"... Waste disposal company fines, appeal hearing 'cancelled' (link)