A South Korean court has ordered the demolition of a café building in Ulsan that imitated a famous award-winning café building in Gijang, Busan. (Image courtesy of Yonhap News)
SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean court has ordered the demolition of a café building in Ulsan that imitated a famous award-winning café building in Gijang, Busan.
The 11th Civil Chamber of the Seoul Western District Court ruled partially in favor of Kwak Hee-soo, the head of IDMM Architects, who filed a compensation suit against an architectural firm in Ulsan. Kwak designed the renowned café ‘Wave On’ in Gijang, Busan.
The court mandated the demolition of what was referred to only as Café A in Ulsan, which was built imitating Wave On, along with a compensation payment of 50 million won.
This building demolition order marks the first of its kind in South Korea’s architecture copyright litigation.
Wave On, established in Jangan-eup in Gijang, Busan in 2016, garnered significant recognition for its architectural value, securing the World Architecture Award in 2017 and the Korean Architecture Award (Prime Minister Award) in 2018.
Café A, built by the seaside in Ulsan in July 2019, closely resembles Wave On in terms of its seaside location, interior and exterior appearance, shape, and size.
Kwak filed a compensation and demolition suit, claiming that Café A infringed upon the architectural design copyright of Wave On.
The court ruled that there are resemblances in certain aspects of the building, including the concrete sloped wall along with the inner stairs, the glass wall supporting the sloped wall and protruded space, the ㄷ-shaped balcony wall, and the full-glass central design of the upper building.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
