Open Decision Ledger · Criminal law
Construction-law extension as a permit target under the Apartment Act
Supreme Court, June 10, 2021, 2021Do2436 (judgment)
Case name: 공동주택관리법위반
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
Is an act of extension defined in the building legislation, absent special circumstances, included among the acts for which Article 35(1)(ii) of the Apartment Building Management Act requires the permission of the competent authority, and does installing an outdoor light steel-framed stair fixed outside an apartment building amount to such an extension?
Holding
Yes. The Apartment Building Management Act has no definition of extension and defers to the Housing Act, which has none either, so, absent special circumstances, the systematic and logical interpretation of the related legislation brings the definitions of the building legislation to bear. A light steel-framed outdoor stair, over 1 m in length and height and about 3 m2 in area, fixed to the outside of an apartment building and used as a passage between the second floor and the ground is a facility attached to an existing building and therefore a building under Article 2(1)(ii) of the Building Act, even without a roof, pillars or walls; if its installation increased the building area, total floor area, number of storeys or height, it is an extension under Article 2(ii) of the Enforcement Decree and may be an act requiring the competent authority's permission under Article 35(1)(ii) of the Apartment Building Management Act.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
따라서 건축법령이 정한 증축 행위는 체계적·논리적 해석 원리상 특별한 사정이 없는 한 공동주택관리법 제35조 제1항 제2호의 허가 대상에 포함된다.
Unofficial English translation
Therefore, the works of adding to an existing building prescribed by the Building Act and subordinate statutes are, absent special circumstances under the principles of systematic and logical interpretation, included in the matters subject to permission under Article 35, paragraph (1), subparagraph 2 of the Community Housing Management Act.
Disposition
Dismissed Stated in the decision
상고를 기각한다.
Unofficial English translation
The appeal is dismissed.
Form of the test
Elements stated Stated in the decision
건축법 시행령 제2조 제2호에 따르면 증축이란 기존 건축물이 있는 대지에서 건축물의 건축면적, 연면적, 층수 또는 높이를 늘리는 것을 말한다.
Unofficial English translation
Under Article 2, subparagraph 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act, an addition means increasing the building area, gross floor area, number of stories, or height of a building on a site where an existing building is located.
Factors
- 체계적·논리적 해석 원리상 특별한 사정이 없는 한
- 기존 건축물에 딸린 시설물로서
- 용도와 현황 등에 비추어 볼 때
- 건축면적, 연면적, 층수 또는 높이가 늘어났다면
Unofficial English translation
• absent special circumstances under the principles of systematic and logical interpretation
• as a facility attached to an existing building
• when viewed in light of its use, current status, etc.
• if the building area, gross floor area, number of stories, or height increased
Relation to precedent
Cannot be determined Not in the decision
Decisions referred to
해당 본문 참조
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
If the installation of an outdoor stair leaves the building area, total floor area, number of storeys and height unchanged, does any other provision of the Apartment Building Management Act still require the competent authority's permission for it?
A judgment finding that such a stair increases none of the four measures, or a later decision on the meaning of a facility attached to an existing building under Article 2(1)(ii) of the Building Act, would require this entry to be read again. An amendment to Article 35(1)(ii) of the Apartment Building Management Act or its Enforcement Decree, including any change to [Table 3], has the same effect.
Cross-family AI independent reading & axis check
7 of 8 axes matched GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI, codex CLI) · 2026-10-25
A reader from another model family (GPT-6 Astra), given the official text but not the primary reading, agreed on 7 of the 8 axes; the readings differed on axis 8 (open question and revisit condition).
Axis 8 (Open question and revisit condition): Primary “If the installation of an outdoor stair leaves the building area, total floor area, number of storeys and height unchanged, does any other provision of the Apartment Building Management Act still require the competent authority's permission for it?” vs Independent “What special circumstances would exclude an extension defined by building legislation from the permission requirement under the Multi-Family Housing Management Act?”
The primary asks whether another provision still requires permission when the stair leaves the building metrics unchanged, while the independent asks which special circumstances would exclude an extension from the permission requirement.
따라서 건축법령이 정한 증축 행위는 체계적·논리적 해석 원리상 특별한 사정이 없는 한 공동주택관리법 제35조 제1항 제2호의 허가 대상에 포함된다.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 Jeonju District Court, in its judgment of 26 January 2021 (2020No1477), found the defendant guilty of extending the apartment building without the permission of the competent authority. On the same premise, it held that installing the outdoor stair increased the building area and the like, so the act was an extension requiring permission under the Apartment Building Management Act, and that the act was not a justified act. It thus kept the first-instance conclusion in full.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court found no error. It held that an act of extension defined in the building legislation is included in the permission requirement of Article 35(1)(ii) of the Apartment Building Management Act unless there are special circumstances, and that the stair was a facility attached to an existing building and so a building under Article 2(1)(ii) of the Building Act. It agreed that the court below had not misunderstood the law on extension or breached the limits of free evaluation, and it also accepted the rejection of the justified-act defence, dismissing the appeal unanimously.
Distinguishing conditions
- An outdoor structure that is not fixed to the outside of an existing building and not used as a passage, since the Court relied on its use and state of affairs to treat it as an attached facility.
- An installation that does not increase the building area, total floor area, number of storeys or height, so that it is not an extension under Article 2(ii) of the Enforcement Decree.
- A permit requirement governed by the Enforcement Decree of the Apartment Building Management Act as amended on 22 October 2019, since the decision applied the version before Presidential Decree No. 30147.
Record verification notes
Fix the date of the act and match the version of the Enforcement Decree then in force to it, since the Court applied the version before the amendment of 22 October 2019. Take measurements of the stair and set them against the four measures in Article 2(ii) of the Enforcement Decree, and gather what shows its use as a passage between the second floor and the ground, since that supported the finding that it was an attached facility. Keep the justified-act argument separate, as the Court decided it on its own terms.
From the official text
Points at issue
[1] 건축법령이 정한 증축 행위가 공동주택관리법 제35조 제1항 제2호의 허가 대상에 포함되는지 여부(적극) [2] 피고인이 관할관청의 허가를 받지 않고 공동주택의 외부 공간에 2층과 지상을 연결하는 길이와 높이가 각 1m를 초과하고 면적이 약 3㎡인 경량철골조 옥외계단을 설치하여 무단으로 공동주택을 증축하였다는 공소사실로 기소된 사안에서, 옥외계단 설치 행위로 건축면적 등이 늘어났다면 건축법 시행령 제2조 제2호의 증축 행위로서 공동주택관리법 제35조 제1항 제2호에 따라 관할관청의 허가 대상이 될 수 있다고 한 사례
Unofficial English translation
[1] Whether the works of adding to an existing building prescribed by the Building Act and subordinate statutes are included in the matters subject to permission under Article 35, paragraph (1), subparagraph 2 of the Community Housing Management Act (affirmative) [2] A case in which, in a matter where the defendant was prosecuted on the alleged facts of the indictment that he added to a joint residential building without permission by installing, in the external space of the joint residential building, outdoor stairs of a light-gauge steel structure connecting the second floor to the ground, with a length and height each exceeding 1 meter and an area of approximately 3㎡, without obtaining permission from the competent authority, it was held that, if the building area, etc. increased as a result of the installation of the outdoor stairs, such installation may constitute works of adding to an existing building under Article 2, subparagraph 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act and thus be subject to permission from the competent authority under Article 35, paragraph (1), subparagraph 2 of the Community Housing Management Act
Summary of the holding
[1] 공동주택관리법 제35조 제1항 제2호, 구 공동주택관리법 시행령(2019. 10. 22. 대통령령 제30147호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제35조 제1항 [별표 3]은 일정한 공동주택의 증축 행위에 관하여 관할관청의 허가를 받도록 하고 있으나, 공동주택관리법은 증축 행위의 의미에 관한 정의규정을 두지 않은 채 “이 법에서 따로 정하지 아니한 용어의 뜻은 주택법에서 정한 바에 따른다.”라고 규정하고 있다(제2조 제2항). 그런데 이에 따라 준용되는 주택법에서도 증축 행위에 관한 정의규정을 발견할 수 없다. 한편 공동주택관리법 제2조 제1항 제1호 (나)목, 주택법 제2조 제1호 등 관계 법령 체계상 공동주택관리법은 스스로 정의하지 않은 사항에 관하여는 건축법령상의 정의가 준용될 수 있음을 전제하고 있는데, 건축법 제2조 제1항 제2호는 건축물을 토지에 정착하는 공작물 중 지붕과 기둥 또는 벽이 있는 것과 이에 딸린 시설물, 지하나 고가의 공작물에 설치하는 사무소·공연장·점포·차고·창고, 그 밖에 대통령령으로 정하는 것으로 정의하고 있고, 건축법 시행령 제2조 제2호에 따르면 증축이란 기존 건축물이 있는 대지에서 건축물의 건축면적, 연면적, 층수 또는 높이를 늘리는 것을 말한다. 따라서 건축법령이 정한 증축 행위는 체계적·논리적 해석 원리상 특별한 사정이 없는 한 공동주택관리법 제35조 제1항 제2호의 허가 대상에 포함된다. [2] 피고인이 관할관청의 허가를 받지 않고 공동주택의 외부 공간에 2층과 지상을 연결하는 길이와 높이가 각 1m를 초과하고 면적이 약 3㎡인 경량철골조 옥외계단을 설치하여 무단으로 공동주택을 증축하였다는 공소사실로 기소된 사안에서, 피고인이 설치한 위 옥외계단에 지붕이나 기둥, 벽 등을 두고 있지 않더라도, 위와 같은 용도와 현황 등에 비추어 볼 때 이는 기존 건축물에 딸린 시설물로서 건축법 제2조 제1항 제2호가 정한 건축물에 해당한다고 봄이 타당하므로 피고인의 옥외계단 설치 행위로 말미암아 건축면적, 연면적, 층수 또는 높이가 늘어났다면, 건축법 시행령 제2조 제2호의 증축 행위로서 공동주택관리법 제35조 제1항 제2호에 따라 관할관청의 허가 대상이 될 수 있다는 이유로, 피고인이 관할관청의 허가 없이 공동주택 증축 행위를 하였다고 보아 공소사실을 유죄로 판단한 원심판단을 수긍한 사례.
Order
상고를 기각한다.
Unofficial English translation
The appeal is dismissed.
Provisions referred to
[1] 공동주택관리법 제2조 제2항, 제35조 제1항 제2호, 구 공동주택관리법 시행령(2019. 10. 22. 대통령령 제30147호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제35조 제1항 [별표 3], 건축법 제2조 제1항 제2호, 건축법 시행령 제2조 제2호 [2] 공동주택관리법 제2조 제2항, 제35조 제1항 제2호, 구 공동주택관리법 시행령(2019. 10. 22. 대통령령 제30147호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제35조 제1항 [별표 3], 건축법 제2조 제1항 제2호, 건축법 시행령 제2조 제2호
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