The judgment of the first instance is revoked, and the lawsuit of this case is dismissed.

The plaintiffs' total cost of litigation.

1. A lawsuit for confirmation is not necessarily limited to a legal relationship between the parties, but can be subject to the legal relationship between one of the parties and a third party or between third parties. However, in order to seek confirmation of the legal relationship, there are interests in seeking confirmation of the legal relationship, it is necessary to immediately confirm the legal relationship by a judgment to cause existing danger proposals in the respondent's rights or legal status, and remove the danger proposals, and it should be the most effective and appropriate means to confirm the legal relationship. In addition, the other party asserts the rights or legal relations against a third party that cannot be compatible with his own claim and seeks confirmation that the other party's rights or legal relations against the third party are nonexistent. Even if the other party is awarded a favorable judgment in the lawsuit for confirmation, it does not mean that the other party's rights are not finalized in relation to the other party, but it does not affect the third party, and thus, the lawsuit for confirmation of non-existence cannot serve as an effective and appropriate means to solve the existing apprehension in his/her rights or legal status.

(See Supreme Court Decision 2006Da5970 Decided August 23, 2007, etc.). According to the reasoning of the judgment below and the records, the plaintiffs' claim of this case against the defendant on the ground that the defendant's term of office as a member of the church of this case expired, it can be seen that the defendant seeks confirmation of the non-existence of the status as a member of the church of this case against the defendant.

However, in light of the above legal principles, even if the plaintiffs received a favorable judgment against the defendant in this case, such judgment does not confirm any rights of the plaintiffs in relation to the defendant, and such judgment does not affect the church in this case, and thus, the lawsuit in this case is the rights or legal provisions of the plaintiffs.