[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] A terminal operator filed a lawsuit against a transportation company over the consignment sale of intercity bus stop tickets but ultimately lost the case.
The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) announced on the 8th that it upheld the lower court's ruling, which dismissed the appeal filed by company A, operating a bus terminal, against bus transportation company B in the 'claim for consignment sales commission of tickets' case.
Company A filed a lawsuit against company B demanding payment of over 600 million won in consignment sales commissions, alleging that company B directly sold tickets at bus stops, violating the consignment obligation under the Passenger Transport Service Act.
Article 46, Paragraph 1 of the Passenger Transport Service Act stipulates that terminal users (bus transportation companies) must consign ticket sales to terminal operators. However, if deemed necessary for passenger convenience, transportation operators may directly sell tickets or consign sales to parties other than terminal operators in accordance with regulations set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The first and second trial courts ruled in favor of company B, stating that "imposing a contractual obligation on the defendant without clear legal provisions is severely unfair."
The Supreme Court also agreed with the lower courts, stating that "it is difficult to accept that tickets sold at bus stops are naturally included in the consignment sales obligation," affirming the lower court's judgment.
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