Supreme Court Orders Reassessment of Naver Glass Reflection Damage Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A lawsuit filed by nearby residents claiming damage from reflected light caused by Naver's glass-walled building will be reconsidered by the court.

On the 3rd, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice No Taeak) overturned the lower court's ruling that dismissed the residents' claim and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court. The residents, including Mr. Shin, who live in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, had filed a damages lawsuit against Naver.

Previously, Mr. Shin and others filed the lawsuit in 2011, stating, "The glass exterior wall of Naver's building reflects light, causing distress in daily life."

In the first trial, the residents won. The court ordered Naver to install facilities to reduce solar reflection and to pay consolation damages of 5 to 10 million KRW per household and property damages ranging from 1.29 million to 6.53 million KRW. The court judged that the residents suffered serious harm, noting that the phenomenon of poor visibility inside apartments due to reflected light exceeded the standard level.

The second trial reversed the decision. It was determined that the reflected light damage did not warrant compensation. The court ruled that since no visual problems occurred in daily life without directly looking at the reflected light and curtains could sufficiently block the reflected light, it was difficult to consider the disturbance of daily life as exceeding the limit of tolerance.

The Supreme Court's judgment differed again. The court stated, "In determining whether the disturbance of daily life caused by reflected light exceeds the socially acceptable limit of tolerance, independent criteria such as the nature and degree of damage and the content of the damage benefit must be applied," and ordered a reexamination of the standards involved.