By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Students are not entitled to get compensation when their right to enjoy sunshine is infringed upon by a newly built apartment next to their school, according to a court ruling.
The Supreme Court Monday upheld a high court verdict that went against 760 students in an elementary school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, who filed the compensation suit against a construction company.
After the school was opened in June 2002, the constructor built an apartment complex next to it. The apartment buildings cast shadow on the playground and parts of the classrooms, and the students filed the suit in 2004.
The first court acknowledged that students, even though they did not reside in the school, use school facilities not only during school hours but also before and after them. It ruled the builder should pay 50,000 won to 200,000 won to each student, saying the building infringed on their right to enjoy sunshine more than a tolerable level.
The high court, however, turned over the decision, saying the right to sunshine is protected by the law as ``benefit for living.'' ``The students did not reside in the school continuously, so they are ineligible to have their sunshine right protected.''
The top court also said the right to enjoy sunshine is given to ``residents'' of a building or a land, such as building owners or tenants. ``Students use school facilities temporarily only when they stay there, not during vacation or weekends. So they do not have the right,'' it said.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
