Open Decision Ledger · Rehabilitation & bankruptcy
Standards for Determining the Requirements for Commencement of Individual Rehabilitation and the Requirements for Finding a Reapplication Insincere
Translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean
Supreme Court, June 10, 2011, 2011Ma201 (ruling)
Case name: 개인회생
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
Is a debtor whose application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings was dismissed three times deemed to fall under the case where the application is not sincere under Article 595, subparagraph 7 of the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act merely by applying again without any special change of circumstances?
Holding
In order to dismiss an application on the ground that it is not sincere, it must be found that the application involves a procedural defect comparable to subparagraphs 1 through 5 or was filed for an improper purpose. The Supreme Court reversed the order of the court below, which had dismissed the application solely on the basis of the debtor's past history without examining the circumstances of the previous dismissals, the state of the debtor's assets, and the extent to which creditors had recovered their claims.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
채무자에게 같은 조 제1호 내지 제5호에 준하는 절차적인 잘못이 있거나, 채무자가 개인회생절차의 진행에 따른 효과만을 목적으로 하는 등 부당한 목적으로 개인회생절차 개시신청을 하였다는 사정이 인정되어야 한다.
Unofficial English translation
It must be recognized that the debtor has committed a procedural error equivalent to subparagraphs 1 through 5 of the same Article, or that the debtor filed the application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings for an improper purpose, such as for the sole purpose of obtaining the effects arising from the progress of individual rehabilitation proceedings.
Disposition
Reversed and remanded Stated in the decision
원심결정을 파기하고, 사건을 제주지방법원 합의부에 환송한다.
Unofficial English translation
The order of the court below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the collegiate panel of Jeju District Court.
Form of the test
Elements stated Stated in the decision
부당한 목적으로 개인회생절차 개시신청을 하였다는 사정이 인정되어야 한다.
Unofficial English translation
It must be recognized that the debtor filed the application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings for an improper purpose.
Factors
- 같은 조 제1호 내지 제5호에 준하는 절차적인 잘못
- 개인회생절차의 진행에 따른 효과만을 목적으로 하는 등 부당한 목적
- 재신청이 명시적으로 금지되어 있지 않은 점
- 청산형의 파산절차보다는 갱생형의 개인회생절차를 우선에 두고 있는 점
- 사정변경이 있다고 볼 여지도 있는 점
Unofficial English translation
• A procedural error equivalent to subparagraphs 1 through 5 of the same Article
• An improper purpose, such as for the sole purpose of obtaining the effects arising from the progress of individual rehabilitation proceedings
• The fact that refiling is not explicitly prohibited
• The fact that priority is given to rehabilitation-type individual rehabilitation proceedings over liquidation-type bankruptcy proceedings
• The fact that there is room for regarding there as being a change of circumstances
Relation to precedent
Follows earlier decisions Stated in the decision
대법원 2009. 12. 24. 자 2009마1137 결정
Unofficial English translation
Supreme Court Decision 2009Ma1137 decided December 24, 2009
Decisions referred to
[1] 대법원 2009. 12. 24. 자 2009마1137 결정(공2010상, 120)
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
When reapplications are repeated, how much lapse of time or what change in the state of the debtor's assets is required for a change of circumstances to be found?
If the grounds for dismissal under Article 595 of the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act or the provisions restricting reapplication are amended, this reading will be checked again.
Cross-family AI independent reading & axis check
7 of 8 axes matched GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI, codex CLI) · 2026-10-16
A comparison with an independent reading by another AI (GPT-6 Astra), which read only the original text without seeing the first reading, showed that 7 of the 8 axes agreed, and the readings diverged on the eighth axis (Open question and revisit condition).
Axis 8 (Open question and revisit condition): Primary “When reapplications are repeated, how much lapse of time or what change in the state of the debtor's assets is required for a change of circumstances to be found?” vs Independent “Whether an improper purpose or a procedural defect is recognized in this debtor's application through additional deliberations after remand?”
The first reading asks for a general standard for recognizing a change of circumstances, while the independent reading asks whether grounds for this debtor's insincerity are recognized after remand.
채무자에게 같은 조 제1호 내지 제5호에 준하는 절차적인 잘못이 있거나, 채무자가 개인회생절차의 진행에 따른 효과만을 목적으로 하는 등 부당한 목적으로 개인회생절차 개시신청을 하였다는 사정이 인정되어야 한다.Raw responses and comparison record: Protocol · Blind readings (JSONL) · Axis comparison (JSONL) · SHA-256 (JSON)
Lower-court contrast & scope of application
Lower-court reading vs. Supreme Court holding
Lower-court context: The court below (Jeju District Court 2010Ra88) held that the appellant had filed applications for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings on three occasions but they were dismissed on grounds such as abuse of proceedings, and that the act of applying again without any special change of circumstances was itself a case where the application was not sincere, and thus affirmed the dismissal order of the first instance court.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court held that a reapplication is not prohibited by law, that the law gives priority to rehabilitation-type proceedings, and that since more than three years had elapsed after the initial proceedings were closed there was room to find a change of circumstances, so that insincerity cannot be conclusively presumed from past history alone. It held that the circumstances of the previous dismissals, the state of the debtor's assets thereafter, and the extent to which creditors had recovered their claims should have been examined to determine whether an improper purpose was present, and reversed and remanded on the grounds of misapprehension of legal principles and failure to exhaust deliberations.
Distinguishing conditions
- Where, in connection with the reapplication, procedural defects comparable to subparagraphs 1 through 5, such as concealment of assets or arbitrary consumption as in the previous proceedings, are newly revealed
- Where it is established on the record that the debtor filed the application only aiming at the effects of the conduct of individual rehabilitation proceedings, such as a stay of compulsory execution
- Where no time has elapsed and there has been no change in the state of the debtor's assets since the previous dismissal, leaving no room to find a change of circumstances
Record verification notes
Before asserting the same conclusion, it is necessary first to check whether there are other grounds for abuse from which an improper purpose can be inferred, in the circumstances of the dismissal of the previous applications, the state of the debtor's assets thereafter, and the extent to which creditors have recovered their claims.
From the official text
Points at issue
[1] 개인회생절차 개시신청에 관한 재판에 대하여 즉시항고가 제기된 경우, 개인회생절차 개시요건을 충족하고 있는지에 관한 판단 기준 시(=항고심 결정 시) [2] 채무자 회생 및 파산에 관한 법률 제595조 제7호에서 정한 ‘그 밖에 신청이 성실하지 아니한 때’에 해당한다는 이유로 채무자의 개인회생절차 개시신청을 기각하기 위한 요건 [3] 세 번에 걸친 개인회생절차 개시신청이 기각된 후 특별한 사정변경이 없음에도 또다시 채무자가 개인회생절차 개시신청을 한 것 자체로 ‘신청이 성실하지 아니한 때’에 해당된다는 이유로 개인회생절차 개시신청을 기각한 사안에서, 채무자가 부당한 목적으로 개인회생제도를 이용하였다는 등 신청 불성실 사유가 있는지에 대하여 심리를 하지 않은 채 채무자의 과거 경력만을 문제삼아 위 개인회생절차 개시신청을 기각한 원심결정을 파기한 사례
Unofficial English translation
[1] Where an immediate appeal is filed against a ruling on an application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings, the point in time at which whether the requirements for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings are satisfied is determined (= the time of the order of the court of appeals) [2] The requirements for dismissing a debtor's application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings on the ground that it falls under 'other cases where the application is not made in good faith' as provided in Article 595, subparagraph 7 of the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act [3] In a case where, after three successive applications for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings had been dismissed, the debtor filed yet another application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings without any special change of circumstances, and the application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings was dismissed on the ground that the filing of the application itself constituted a case where 'the application is not made in good faith,' a case in which the order of the court below, which dismissed the said application for commencement of individual rehabilitation proceedings by taking issue only with the debtor's past history without examining whether there existed grounds for the application being made in bad faith, such as the debtor having used the individual rehabilitation system for an improper purpose, was reversed
Summary of the holding
[1] 개인회생절차개시의 요건을 충족하고 있는지 여부는 개시신청 당시를 기준으로 하여 판단하는 것이 원칙이나, 개시신청에 관한 재판에 대하여 즉시항고가 제기된 경우에는 항고심의 속심적 성격에 비추어 항고심 결정 시를 기준으로 판단하여야 한다. [2] 법원이 채무자 회생 및 파산에 관한 법률 제595조 제7호에서 정한 ‘그 밖에 신청이 성실하지 아니한 때’에 해당한다는 이유로 채무자의 개인회생절차 개시신청을 기각하려면 채무자에게 같은 조 제1호 내지 제5호에 준하는 절차적인 잘못이 있거나, 채무자가 개인회생절차의 진행에 따른 효과만을 목적으로 하는 등 부당한 목적으로 개인회생절차 개시신청을 하였다는 사정이 인정되어야 한다. [3] 채무자가 세 번에 걸쳐 개인회생절차 개시신청을 하였으나 개인회생절차를 남용하여 채권자의 권리행사를 방해하였다는 등의 사유로 신청이 기각되었는데, 이후 특별한 사정변경이 없음에도 또다시 개인회생절차 개시신청을 한 것 자체로 ‘신청이 성실하지 아니한 때’에 해당된다는 이유로 개인회생절차 개시신청을 기각한 사안에서, 통상 개인회생채무자는 개인회생절차 개시신청 기각결정에 대한 항고로 다투기보다는 재신청을 택하는 경우가 많고 채무자 회생 및 파산에 관한 법률에 의하여 재신청이 명시적으로 금지되어 있지 않은 점, 위 법은 도산절차에 있어서 채권자의 이익과 채무자의 실질적 갱생을 위하여 청산형의 파산절차보다는 갱생형의 개인회생절차를 우선에 두고 있는 점, 위 개인회생절차 개시신청에 사정변경이 있다고 볼 여지도 있는 점을 고려하면 위 개인회생절차 개시신청이 성실하지 아니한 경우에 해당한다고 단정하기 어려움에도, 채무자가 부당한 목적으로 개인회생제도를 이용하였다는 등 신청 불성실 사유가 있는지에 대하여 심리를 하지 않은 채 채무자의 과거 경력만을 문제삼아 위 개인회생절차 개시신청을 기각한 원심결정을 파기한 사례.
Order
원심결정을 파기하고, 사건을 제주지방법원 합의부에 환송한다.
Unofficial English translation
The order of the court below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the collegiate panel of Jeju District Court.
Provisions referred to
[1] 채무자 회생 및 파산에 관한 법률 제595조, 제598조 제1항 [2] 채무자 회생 및 파산에 관한 법률 제595조 제7호 [3] 채무자 회생 및 파산에 관한 법률 제595조 제7호
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